A United Airlines jetliner lifts off from a runway at Denver International Airport on June 10, 2020, in Denver. Two United Airlines flight attendants have filed a lawsuit towards the corporate, alleging they had been excluded from working constitution flights for the Los Angeles Dodgers due to their race, age, faith and look.

David Zalubowski/AP

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David Zalubowski/AP

A United Airlines jetliner lifts off from a runway at Denver International Airport on June 10, 2020, in Denver. Two United Airlines flight attendants have filed a lawsuit towards the corporate, alleging they had been excluded from working constitution flights for the Los Angeles Dodgers due to their race, age, faith and look.

David Zalubowski/AP

Two longtime United Airlines flight attendants have filed a lawsuit towards the corporate, saying they had been excluded from working constitution flights for the Los Angeles Dodgers due to their race, age, faith and look.

In a 22-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the 2 flight attendants — Dawn Todd, 50, and Darby Quezada, 44 — alleged that United Airlines eliminated them from the crews of the Dodgers constitution flights, that are extremely coveted and aggressive positions for United flight attendants. The airline then allegedly changed them with flight attendants who “fit a specific visual image,” in keeping with the lawsuit obtained by NPR.

The two flight attendants are searching for a jury trial and an unspecified quantity in damages.

Todd is Black and Quezada is of Mexican, Black and Jewish descent. Both ladies have been employed with United Airlines for greater than 15 years. The pair say the airline selected attendants who had been “young, white, female and predominately blond/blue-eyed,” the lawsuit mentioned.

In addition, the go well with argued that the airline’s white staff engaged in blatant discriminatory practices in direction of their minority counterparts on the constitution flights.

Both Todd and Quezada had spent greater than a decade attempting to affix the airline’s program that staffs the Dodgers’ flights, the lawsuit mentioned.

Flight attendants who’re chosen for the extremely desired positions can earn as much as double or typically even triple their pay for typical assignments, given the longer flight instances.

“Plaintiffs had the necessary experience and qualifications… but their requests were dismissed and rejected because Plaintiffs were not white,” the lawsuit mentioned.

The lawsuit additionally acknowledged that United staff and administration referred to Quezada and Todd as “maids” — with one occasion of Quezada allegedly being referred to as a maid as a result of the group wanted a “Mexican to clean the bathrooms.” She additionally claimed that she was informed to cease talking Spanish with a Dodgers participant (who was not recognized) as a result of “we are in America.”

In addition to allegedly being known as a “flight maid,” Todd claimed United staff and administration threatened to spill a tray of scorching espresso and tea on her, alongside ignoring and demeaning her throughout conferences and flights, the lawsuit mentioned.

Todd, who has spent greater than 17 years with United Airlines, mentioned since her demotion she has skilled “financial harm,” as she was instructed to clear her schedule to make herself accessible to the random choice of constitution flights — thus lacking out on additional compensation she would earn on common United flights.

“This demotion is forcing Todd and other minority flight attendants to either lose compensation awaiting ‘random’ selection or to quit the program entirely,” the lawsuit mentioned.

Sam Yebri, the legal professional representing each Todd and Quezada, informed NPR that main firms within the U.S., corresponding to United, want to know the severity of their actions with regards to staffing choices — no matter an worker’s race, age and bodily look.

“United’s blatantly discriminatory staffing decisions allowed the cancer of racism and antisemitism to metastasize on the flights themselves,” Yebri mentioned.

The Los Angeles Dodgers usually are not named as defendants within the lawsuit. A spokesperson for the Dodgers informed NPR that the crew doesn’t touch upon any pending litigation.

In an announcement to NPR, United denied the legitimacy of the claims within the lawsuit, saying that the corporate “fosters an environment of inclusion” and doesn’t “tolerate discrimination of any kind.”

“We believe this lawsuit is without merit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously,” the airline mentioned in its assertion.

United Airlines isn’t any stranger to discrimination accusations. The firm was targeted in a 2020 lawsuit, which claimed the airline discriminated towards Black and Jewish flight attendants for its athletic groups’ constitution flights by staffing them with attendants who “fit a specific visual image.”

The airline declined to remark to USA Today on the lawsuit however informed the newspaper in an announcement they’re pleased with its observe file on “diversity, equity and inclusion.”

“…the flight attendants included in our sports team charter program are largely representative of our overall flight attendant population in regards to age and race,” United spokesperson Jonathan Guerin informed USA Today in 2020.

“Importantly, flight attendant eligibility to work a charter flight is based solely on performance and attendance and has nothing to do with age, race or gender,” he added.