Two United flight attendants have filed a lawsuit against the airline, claiming they were barred from working on a chartered Dodgers flight because of their race and age.
Dawn Todd, 50, and Darby Quezada, 44, claim they were passed over in favor of flight attendants who were “young and thin, but also predominantly blonde and blue-eyed” – and fit the Los Angeles Dodgers’ “certain look” players liked it. United have denied the allegations.
Their complaint, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles, describes Todd as black and Quezada as of Mexican, black and Jewish descent. The flight attendants, who each worked at United for more than 16 years, are seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages for alleged discrimination and harassment.
Todd and Quezada say they were chosen for the Dodgers’ charter flight program after “extensive interviews.” The chartered flights offered as much as double or triple the compensation of standard flights.
The plaintiffs were chosen after the airline faced a similar lawsuit in 2020 over staffing of athletic team flights and accepted more flight attendants into the program.
Dawn Todd, 50, and Darby Quezada, 44, (pictured) claim they were passed over in favor of flight attendants who were “white and thin” but also predominantly blonde and blue-eyed.
The Dodgers are not named as a defendant and a team spokesperson said the Dodgers do not comment on pending litigation
United settled a similar case in 2020 with two other flight attendants, which Todd and Quezada cited in their own complaint
But Todd and Quezada claim that things changed last year when several white flight attendants were added to the program, which ultimately led to Todd receiving fewer assignments and Quezada being removed from the program entirely in August.
The lawsuit alleges that, unlike Todd and Quezada, “these white United flight attendants were not required to apply for those coveted positions.”
“Instead, these white flight attendants were brazenly selected by United management… because of their appearance: they are white, young, thin women who are predominantly blonde and blue-eyed,” the flight attendants allege.
“When Todd and Quezada asked United why certain flight attendants had been added… without having to interview like they did, Todd and Quezada were told that these white flight attendants fit a ‘certain look’ that the Dodgers players liked .’
After Todd objected to her being bypassed despite her seniority, United retaliated against her and Quezada, including when employees and managers called Todd the “flight girl” and humiliated her during flights and meetings, according to the lawsuit.
Quezada also claims that other flight attendants told her she was only on the crew because they “needed a Mexican to clean the bathrooms.”
“Plaintiffs had the necessary experience and qualifications, but their requests were dismissed and dismissed because the plaintiffs were not white,” the lawsuit said.
Both plaintiffs said United’s treatment cost them income and led to severe panic attacks, anxiety, loss of self-esteem, sleep and other conditions that required psychological treatment.
“United fosters an environment of inclusivity and does not tolerate any form of discrimination,” the airline told Reuters in a statement. “We believe this lawsuit is without merit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously.”
The Dodgers are not named as a defendant and a team spokesperson said the Dodgers do not comment on pending litigation.
According to their LinkedIn pages, Quezada has been with United for almost 16 years and Todd for 17 years. They are both residents of California.
United settled a similar case in 2020 with two other flight attendants, whom Todd and Quezada cited in their own complaint.
Sharon Tesler and Kim Guillory claimed United based which flight attendants were assigned to sports charter flights “entirely based on their racial and physical characteristics and stereotypical ideas of sexual attractiveness.”
In their lawsuit, United “has adopted and continues to implement procedures designed to ensure that young, white, blonde/blue-eyed female employees are given positions within the charter program, while senior, black, and Jewish employees such as plaintiffs: do so not.’
Dozens of sports teams from the NFL, MLB and NCAA have charter agreements with United and other airlines.
United has said it “promotes an environment of inclusivity and does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.”
“We believe this lawsuit is without merit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously,” the airline said in a statement.