Supreme Court lets stand rest-break ruling for airline employees

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to insulate airlines from California's meal and rest break requirements, leaving intact a ruling that Alaska Airlines Inc. said will mean “nationwide tumult” for the industry.

The justices, without comment, let stand a damage award against Virgin America Inc., now part of Alaska, in a class-action suit by California-based flight attendants. Alaska contended that a federal airline law supersedes the California rules.

Alaska and the industry say the appeals court ruling will force airlines to add extra crew to many flights at a time companies are already suffering from a labor shortage. The lack of a definitive answer from the court doesn't resolve a conflict between state and federal laws, and will result in a patchwork of costly and conflicting regulations, according to Airlines for America, the lobbying group for major U.S. carriers.

“We expect that other cases involving state mealand-rest-break laws will present the US Supreme Court with similar legal questions,” the trade group said in a statement Thursday. “It will be increasingly clear that these laws affect airlines prices, routes and services and should be preempted.”

The suing flight attendants say the industry has overstated the impact of the ruling, issued by the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The case centers on flights within California.

A federal trial judge awarded $1.4 million to the flight attendants for their rest-break claims as part of a broader wage-and-hour lawsuit against the airline.