A judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Black former Envoy Air Inc. worker who alleged she was wrongfully fired in 2021 for complaining about being rushed through stored aircraft safety inspections.
Plaintiff Faatima Saleema Floyd’s amended Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, filed April 13, alleged wrongful termination, negligent hiring, supervision and retention, whistleblower retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Judge Douglas W. Stern dismissed all four allegations as well as Floyd’s claim for punitive damages on May 19.
Addressing Floyd’s whistleblower claim, the judge said the plaintiff did not explain the alleged adverse employment action she suffered.
“Assuming that the adverse employment action was her termination, she has not established a temporal nexus sufficient to show a causal link between her alleged protected activity, which was refusing to sign off on safety checks and reporting the safety concerns, and her termination,” Stern wrote.
In March, the judge ruled regarding Floyd’s original complaint that all 10 causes of action she was alleging at the time needed to be shored up with more details.
In their court papers, lawyers for Envoy Air — a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group — maintained that Floyd’s claims lacked merit.
“Envoy Air … employed plaintiff Faatima Saleema Floyd as a fleet service clerk at Los Angeles International Airport until it terminated her on Nov. 24, 2021, for repeated insubordination to her supervisors,” the airline’s lawyers argued in their court papers.
Floyd admits she told her supervisor, Christopher Kline, “You suck as a manager,” according to the airline’s attorneys’ court papers, which also stated that the plaintiff hoarded Envoy’s vans that are used to transport employees around LAX so they can quickly service landing aircraft.
“Even assuming, arguendo (for the sake of argument), these claims are actionable, they are exceedingly basic,” Envoy’s attorneys argued in their court papers. “Despite this fact, plaintiff’s discovery conduct has been very broad and aggressive.”
Floyd was hired in May 2016 and her duties were to conduct safety inspections on stored aircraft, the suit states. She spoke out when she believed she was being hurried by supervisors to sign her approval of the safety checks, the suit stated.
In a November 2021 meeting with a fourth supervisor, Floyd was told she was being fired for aggressive behavior toward a manager, the suit stated.
Floyd responded, “I know I questioned things and that’s why I’m being terminated,” according to the suit filed Dec. 13, which further stated Floyd continues to suffer humiliation, emotional distress and physical pain because of her firing.