Member Article

U.S. lawsuit is "meritless", says Runcorn-based Servisair

Runcorn-headquartered luggage handling firm, Servisair, has called allegations of underpaying their staff “meritless”, after a lawsuit was filed against them in the U.S. this week.

The company, which has around 15,000 employees worldwide, is alleged to have underpaid staff at U.S. airports who worked overtime.

The initial 170 plaintiffs and Miami-based law firm JaffeGlenn said the implementation of new software that rounded up start times and rounded down finish times meant staff were cheated out of their correct wages.

Servisair also stands accused of deducting 30 minute lunch periods from staff who didn’t take the breaks.

JaffeGlenn said this loss of wages amounts to tens of millions over a period of three years.

On Friday, Servisair commented about the case that is being held against them in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York.

A statement said: “Since our company’s founding in 1954, we have always strived to treat our employees in the most fair and equitable way possible.

“Recently, a Plaintiffs’ attorney has filed a lawsuit against us on behalf of certain current and former employees alleging they were not paid for overtime.

“We believe these allegations are meritless, and the facts will demonstrate our unwavering commitment to our employees.”

Servisair handles luggage across 118 locations worldwide, including 31 locations in the USA.

The company is also in the midst of talks with rival luggage firm, Swissport, over a possible merger deal.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .