“Vail Resorts has exploited plaintiffs and thousands of other seasonal employees in violation of federal and state labor laws for years, and these egregious practices continue to the present. This action seeks to hold Vail Resorts responsible for its misconduct, fairly compensate plaintiffs and other similarly situated current and former Vail Resorts employees for damages preliminarily estimated to total more than $100 million.”
A lawsuit filed against Vail Resorts on behalf of three employees is seeking class action status alleging the company has repeatedly violated both federal labor and state labor laws. The lawsuit was filed Dec. 3 in Colorado on behalf of Randy Dean Quint, John Linn and Mark Molina. It seeks class action status for eligible current and former employees who worked for Vail Resorts over the past three years (sure some of you reading this qualify in that group).
The 167-page lawsuit states that while Vail Resorts “willfully and systematically fails to pay its hourly employees for all hours worked at the hourly wage specified in employment agreements.” The lawsuit alleges instructors and other employees, including ticket scanners and lift operators, are to various degrees not fully paid for their entire shifts, for “off the clock” work Vail Resorts requires or accepts, for some types of training, for travel and dressing time, or for the use, purchase or maintenance of their ski and snowboard equipment or their cellphones.
“All told, Vail Resorts fails to pay snow sports instructors for more than 2.5 hours of work per day in violation of the (Fair Labor Standards Act) and applicable state law,”
Quint claims he has worked as a seasonal Vail Resorts employee and full-time snow sport instructor for seven years at Beaver Creek Resort. He estimates he worked 470 hours that he was not paid for from December 2017 to December 2019, as well as 422 hours of unpaid overtime.
Linn has worked as a part-time and full-time snow sports instructor at Beaver Creek alleges he worked 213 hours he was not paid for from December 2017 through March 2020, not including 130 hours of unpaid overtime.
“Vail Resorts knowingly failed to compensate plaintiffs and thousands of other similarly situated employees at their relevant hourly rate for all time worked. Vail Resorts also knowingly failed to reimburse plaintiffs and others similarly situated for costs associated with their smartphones and tools of the trade used in performance of their jobs and for the benefit of Vail Resorts. In violation of federal and state laws, Vail Resorts has illegally reaped millions of dollars at the expense of plaintiffs and other class members.” 
