SkiCo and restaurant worker near settlement in shuttle dispute | News

Aspen Skiing Co. is nearing a settlement agreement with a restaurant employee over allegations in its lawsuit that mountain staff are entitled to compensation for time spent commuting to work on chairlifts , tracked vehicles and snowmobiles.

According to court filings in Craig Stout's proposed class action lawsuit against SkiCo, the pending settlement comes after the parties agreed, and 9th Judicial District Court Judge Anne Norrdin agreed, to stay the proceedings judicial end of January to allow them to negotiate outside of court.

“The parties have reached an agreement in principle to resolve this matter on a class basis,” states a joint motion filed May 1 by the parties' respective Denver-based attorneys: Alexander Hood, of the nonprofit legal organization Towards Justice, for Stout and Austin. Jensen, of Holland & Hart, for SkiCo.

The filing does not provide details on the nature of the agreement.

Norrdin on May 2 approved their request to stay the proceedings until May 31, at which time the parties said they would file a motion for the judge's preliminary approval of the settlement or provide an update on progress towards a settlement, based on court records.

Stout's lawsuit claims SkiCo employees deserve to be paid for their past trips to the mountains. The lawsuit asserts claims under the Colorado Wage Claim Act, the Colorado Minimum Wage Act, and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.

According to the lawsuit's allegations, SkiCo's on-mountain workers “face physical risks and strains well beyond normal travel to and from these on-mountain facilities.”

The suit also accuses SkiCo of violating state laws regarding worker breaks and posting misleading information about employee benefits on the company's website.

SkiCo denied the allegations in a motion to dismiss filed Dec. 29. It was the latest argument filed in the suit since Stout filed it Oct. 31 in Pitkin County District Court.

“Common sense dictates that it is implausible that traveling safely on a gondola/chairlift or snowcat/snowmobile is more dangerous than traveling to ASC with your own transportation on snow-covered roads and “, states the motion, which also maintains that “drivers must also use safety equipment – ​​a seat belt. Indeed, it defies common sense to think that sitting in an enclosed gondola, for example, is more dangerous than navigating snowy and icy roads with other drivers nearby. You surely feel safer on ASC gondolas than driving in winter conditions to ASC bases. The same goes for driving a snowcat or snowmobile which, unlike a classic car, are designed exclusively to cope with winter conditions.

It is SkiCo's policy not to comment on active litigation. According to the lawsuit, Stout has worked at SkiCo's mountain restaurants since 2022.

Stout's attorney, Hood, declined to comment when contacted last week.

Hood is also part of a legal team seeking to bring a class-action lawsuit in another Aspen-related case, this one not involving SkiCo. Daniel Esteban Camas López sued Marriott in October, alleging the hotel company overworked and underpaid him during his internship at St. Regis Aspen under the J-1 visitor exchange program. Marriott has denied the allegations. The lawsuit is pending in U.S. District Court in Denver.