New York AG Says Airline Workers Will Be Reimbursed for Cleaning Costs

New York State Attorney General Letitia James has reached an agreement with an airline services company to repay employees after illegally deducting money from their paychecks to clean their uniforms.

Attorney General Letitia James said Eulen America unlawfully deducted almost $600,000 from the paychecks of about 1,500 workers. New York state law requires employers to reimburse workers earning minimum wage for the laundering costs of any uniforms they are required to wear at a fixed weekly rate.

Eulen America is a contractor for American Airlines.

“The dedicated and hardworking workers at airports across the tri-state area deserve to be compensated fairly for their labor and reimbursed for what the law clearly lays out,” the attorney general said.

Eulen America did not respond to NBC4 New York for comment on Friday.

James said her office’s investigation began in November 2019, and found that the company failed to reimburse workers from February 2014 through May 2020. She said that Eulen faces legal action if it doesn’t comply, and has agreed to provide the attorney general with a written plan for disbursing the funds.