Washington Wage-and-Hour Class Action Filed Against SSP America (Sea-Tac Airport Concessions)
A new class action lawsuit highlights common wage-and-hour issues in the food and beverage industry across Washington State. The lawsuit against SSP America Sea LLC, SSP America Sea II LLC, and SSP America Sky Gamerz Sea, LLC, which operate food and beverage concessions at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, alleges the companies failed to properly pay their non-exempt, hourly employees.
According to the complaint, staffing conditions and scheduling demands regularly prevented front-of-house and back-of-house food and beverage workers from taking legally required meal and rest breaks. Employees allegedly worked through their meal and rest periods to meet scheduling requirements and were not compensated with the additional premium pay owed for missed breaks.
The complaint also alleges that the companies required employees to use their personal cell phones and vehicles for work-related purposes without adequate reimbursement, resulting in unlawful wage deductions that in some cases pushed employees’ effective pay below the state minimum wage. It further claims the companies failed to pay proper overtime for hours worked over 40 in a week and issued paystubs that did not accurately reflect all regular and overtime hours worked. The lawsuit alleges these violations were part of a systemic, company-wide practice and asserts wage lien rights against the defendants’ assets under RCW 60.90 to help ensure recovery for the class while the claims are pending.
The case seeks to proceed as a class action on behalf of current and former non-exempt, hourly employees of SSP America Sea LLC, SSP America Sea II LLC, and SSP America Sky Gamerz Sea, LLC in Washington State from three years prior to filing through final resolution.
