Four Engineering Firms Agree to $26.5 Million Settlement in Wage Suppression Class Action

Four engineering firms have collectively agreed to pay $26.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing them and Pratt & Whitney, a unit of RTX, of artificial wage suppression for tens of thousands of aerospace workers. The settlement terms were disclosed by plaintiffs’ lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and DiCello Levitt in a filing made in federal court in Connecticut on Friday.

The lawsuit consolidates more than 20 similar cases that were brought together in 2022. While Pratt & Whitney has not settled and remains the sole defendant, the settlements reached by the other companies will now go to the court for approval. The class affected by this lawsuit is estimated to include 43,000 current and former aerospace workers.

The companies involved in the wage suppression settlement are outsourcing firms collaborating with Pratt & Whitney on engineering projects. They have been accused of conspiring to restrict recruitment and hiring among each other’s employees, thereby keeping wages lower than they would be in a competitive market. The nine named plaintiffs in the case, former engineers for Pratt & Whitney and the other defendants, spearheaded the allegations.

Under the proposed settlements, Belcan Engineering will pay $9.9 million, QuEST Global Services will contribute $8.2 million, Cyient will settle for $7.4 million, and Agilis Engineering will pay $1 million. Notably, Agilis had a leniency agreement with the U.S. Justice Department and admitted to participating in a recruitment-related conspiracy. The other defendants have denied any wrongdoing.

Source: Reuters