Third Lawsuit Targets Connecticut Aerospace Industry Over Alleged No-Hiring Agreement
A federal indictment in December of former aerospace workers charged with suppressing wages and blocking hiring has led to a third lawsuit against aerospace companies, with lawyers seeking more clients to broaden class-action complaints.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hartford alleges jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, the East Hartford subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp., agreed to hiring freezes from certain aerospace suppliers. According to a former recruiter for Belcan, a Cincinnati engineering firm, Pratt & Whitney agreed to not hire until employees completed a time limited contract and a six-month moratorium, the lawsuit claims.
If Pratt & Whitney wanted to hire a Belcan contract employee before the end of that moratorium, it had to pay Belcan a fee, the lawsuit claims. Details were set in a so-called master terms agreement, according to the lawsuit filed by Hagens Berman, a Seattle law firm on behalf of five clients.
A spokesman for Pratt & Whitney declined to comment and Belcan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit also accuses Pratt & Whitney of a “verbal no-hire agreement” with Agilis Engineering Inc. that prohibited both parties from hiring each other’s employees, according to a former manager at the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, company.
Agilis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The conspiracy was intended to suppress compensation throughout the market by limiting hiring and solicitation of engineers and other skilled workers in the aerospace industry,” the lawsuit alleges.
As a result, wages, salaries and benefits since at least 2011 were lower than they would have otherwise been, the lawsuit claims.
A federal grand jury in mid-December indicted five aerospace executives and a former manager on charges of conspiring to limit workers’ professional advancement and compensation, the U.S. Department of Justice announced .
The Bridgeport grand jury accused the six men of participating in a “long-running conspiracy to restrict the hiring and recruiting of employees among their respective companies.” The indictments did not identify the companies for whom the defendants worked.
Two civil lawsuits were later filed:. A legal challenge accused Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies subsidiary, of participating in a no-hire agreement that allegedly hobbled career and pay opportunities for engineers.
A similar lawsuit in U.S. District Court in December alleged Pratt & Whitney took part in a so-called no-poach arrangement.
Lawyers are soliciting potential clients, asking if any had worked as an engineer, engine designer, manufacturer or other skilled worker at a major aerospace company since 2011. Wages were likely lower due to a “massive wage-fixing agreement” between the biggest aerospace companies in the nation, Hagens Berman alleged.
Stephen Singer can be reached at [email protected].
©2022 Hartford Courant. Visit courant.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
