- Home Depot cofounder Arthur Blank’s family office is being sued by two private jet flight attendants.
- They say they were overworked, and that Blank’s family office “falsified time records.”
- The plaintiffs say their employment status was misclassified, and they weren’t paid overtime they were due.
Two private jet flight attendants have sued The Home Depot cofounder Arthur M. Blank’s family office, alleging they were overworked and not paid overtime.
Adele Pearson and Samantha Carlisle allege they were improperly classified as exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act, in the suit against Blank’s family office, AMBFO.
The women say in the lawsuit that they worked over 40 hours “nearly every workweek.”
As well as working on flights, the women say they had to devise menus, pick up catering, and “perform various personal errands for Blank or his family members” — including handling dry cleaning and choosing restaurants or hotels.
The lawsuit, which was obtained by Business Insider, was filed on October 18 at the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta.
Blank, who owns the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, is worth $9.3 billion, according to Forbes. Data from JetSpy shows he owns two private jets, a Bombardier Global Express and a Bombardier Global 7500.
The lawsuit says that in 2023, Pearson and Carlisle were paid salaries of $160,000 and “approximately $158,000” respectively, and worked 26 days a month for several months.
It also says the family office “falsified time records” to suggest the plaintiffs had eight days off. The lawsuit says that on their days off, the two women were “bombarded” by calls and texts about travel planning from Blank’s family office.
Their workload was increased because they were often required to cover for “inept” coworkers, the lawsuit says.
The women allege in the lawsuit that another of the contract flight attendants was in a romantic relationship with Blank and “provided only limited support” because she was scheduled on flights where Blank was the sole passenger.
The lawsuit also says the flight operations coordinator was in a romantic relationship with the director of aviation and that she was “unable to perform basic tasks” such as ordering food or booking hotels.
Lawyers for the plaintiff accuse AMBFO of one count of unpaid overtime and seek to recover all unpaid overtime, liquidated damages, and legal costs.
A spokesperson for AMBFO declined to comment, saying it is company policy not to do so while litigation is pending.
