A senior United Airlines flight attendant has filed a lawsuit in the state of New Jersey against the airline for harassment.
Ingrid Raganova, aged 52, claimed that she was harassed and referred to as a “snitch” online for reporting safety violations involving her colleagues.
Based on court documents, Raganova said that for more than two years, she was singled out and disciplined because she reported safety issues, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) violations and airline policy violations that she witnessed on many flights.
One of the cases that Raganova reported to the FAA was a colleague’s usage of headphones and iPad during an international flight. Another included a coworker who used a mobile phone to send a text message during takeoff.
The lawsuit, which was filed under the category of Whistleblower / Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA), also said that Raganova’s colleagues retaliated against her by making baseless and fabricated reports that placed her “unjustifiably close to potential termination”.
Raganova said that instead of investigating her reports, the airline demoted her from a management position of international purser to regular flight attendant, a disciplinary action that lasted 18 months, lowered her wages and placed her employment at risk.
Raganova also noticed that colleagues, even those she had not seen before, started to treat her with “hostility”.
On June 1, 2023, Raganova said she discovered a “mass social media posting” about her was sent to more than 25,000 airline employees, labeling her a “snitch”.
The post, which is included in the lawsuit, contains a photo of Raganova and the words, “Snitch Alert. She likes to report flight attendants and harass [sic].”
Raganova, who is based at the carrier’s main hub in Newark, has worked for the airline for more than 27 years.
