WestJet has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle a sexual harassment class-action lawsuit launched a decade ago involving more than 3,000 flight attendants, according to the lead plaintiff and her lawyer.

They say a B.C. judge on Monday approved the terms of the settlement, which were finalized in June. WestJet said in a statement it is “pleased” to have reached a settlement.

Former flight attendant Mandalena Lewis alleged that a pilot sexually assaulted her on a layover in Hawaii in 2010. After launching a lawsuit in 2016, other women who worked for the airline came forward and the case was certified as a class action by the B.C. Court of Appeal in 2022.

The flight attendants allege WestJet failed to provide a safe workplace with adequate anti-harassment measures.

Lewis told CBC News on Wednesday she is relieved the case is done with, but doesn’t feel like the plaintiffs got “full justice.” She said she is feeling deflated by the “symbolic” dollar amount and the fact that WestJet did not admit wrongdoing under the terms of the agreement.

“It’s the best we could get given the circumstances. I had to fight tooth and nail for these slivers,” Lewis said.

The $4.5 million will be distributed among 3,452 flight attendants after expenses are deducted, including legal fees.

She said that works out to about $400 for each flight attendant involved in the suit.

Lewis says the judge also reduced her honorarium that was agreed to be paid out in the settlement, to $10,000 from $20,000.

“At the end of the day, I’m glad this is over, I am glad we set a legal precedent. I’m not glad with the number, I don’t think it’s enough.”

WestJet said in an email to CBC News it is “committed to strengthening our operations and training, focused on the safety and well-being of all WestJetters” and “focused on advancing a culture of empowerment.”

Under the terms of the settlement, WestJet is to retain a third-party consultant to conduct a workplace assessment to determine the prevalence of harassment in the workplace, the extent of underreporting and how to make reporting and response systems more effective.

Legal process a ‘nightmare’: Lewis

In an affidavit, Lewis said speaking with and supporting more than 100 former flight attendants regarding their experiences with sexual harassment — conversations she had in her role as lead plaintiff — took an extreme physical and emotional toll throughout the legal process.

She told CBC News on Wednesday that the experience has been a “nightmare.”

Lewis said the sexual assault and harassment of female flight attendants is a “deep-seated, historical, systemic issue” that continues in the airline industry today.

“I took it on because I knew what a huge problem it was,” she said. “I did it for myself and I did for other flight attendants who I know went through what I went through. And many are still going through it.”

WATCH | WestJet agrees to pay $4.5 million to settle class-action lawsuit:

WestJet to settle flight attendants’ sexual harassment suit for $4.5M

WestJet has agreed to a $4.5 million settlement in a decade-long class action lawsuit launched by female flight attendants alleging the company failed to maintain a safe workplace after the alleged sexual assault of two female flight attendants by a pilot.

Lewis has said she reported the alleged 2010 assault to her managers and to the RCMP, who contacted police in Maui at the time. The U.S. federal prosecutor in Maui laid charges, but Lewis said she was told the pilot could only be arrested if he returned to the island.

Later, another flight attendant reached out to Lewis and alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by the same pilot in 2008.

In 2016, the airline fired Lewis for insubordination after she had demanded for months to see her employment record to determine whether WestJet took any action on her complaint.

The class-action suit settled Monday alleged that WestJet “breached contracts of employment with female flight attendants by failing to implement and maintain an adequate anti-harassment program, including adequate systems and practices for reporting, investigating, and responding to workplace harassment” between April 4, 2016 and Feb. 28, 2021.

WestJet denied those allegations.

The basis for compensation was costs that WestJet allegedly avoided through its failure to implement an adequate anti-harassment program, rather than compensation for harms suffered by the flight attendants.

Good deal for WestJet: lawyer

Joshua Coratti, associate lawyer with the Toronto employment law firm Ball Professional Corporation, says the settlement looks like a “pretty good deal” for WestJet, as it absolves them of liability for individual claims from plaintiffs, which could have been more costly.

“Doing a class-action lawsuit, you often end up with a lot less in terms of the monetary value for each individual plaintiff. As it turns out, typically lawyers are the ones who win the class action lawsuits. They’re the ones collecting very large legal fees,” Coratti told CBC News.

“What it can do, is it can show that certain behaviour is not permitted. It can get companies to be a little bit more hesitant to engage in large-scale violations to that effect.”