A United Airlines flight attendant is suing the company for sexual harassment after a Colorado-based pilot – her ex-boyfriend – posted explicit images and videos of her online and stalked her for years, according to a civil rights lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 28, seeks monetary damages and a court order requiring United Airlines to institute policies for preventing and responding to abuse, including sexual harassment.
The Adams County woman’s claims echo a related criminal case in which the same pilot, Andrew Hill of Aurora, pleaded guilty to distributing pornography, sexual extortion and stalking in Cedar City, Utah, and was sentenced to up to five years in prison in December 2024.
That case also involved a former United Airlines flight attendant as the victim, and the criminal investigation found Hill posted explicit photos and videos of 10 women online, including multiple United employees, according to the complaint.
United Airlines did not prevent or stop Hill’s sexual harassment and illegal conduct, even though officials knew sexual harassment was a problem at the company since 2009, attorneys with the Aspen law firm ALM Law and New York firm Marsh Law wrote in the complaint.
“Despite that knowledge, United Airlines failed to take reasonable steps to protect its employees and prevent sexually harassing conduct, which created a hostile work environment within United Airlines,” attorneys Allison Mahoney, Helene M. Weiss and Cori J. Iacopelli wrote in the complaint.
The woman filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against United Airlines in December 2024 and received a notice-of-right-to-sue letter from the agency in July.
A spokesperson for United Airlines declined to comment on the case.
Airline officials learned about the criminal investigation into Hill in April 2024 but did not put him on leave. United fired him only after he was arrested in July, according to the complaint.
United Airlines officials also told a Utah investigator that they let the woman know she was a victim in the case and provided her with support, but actually did neither.
“Plaintiff brings this action to recover for the emotional and psychological injuries she endured because of the actions and/or inactions of Defendant United Airlines and to make sure that no one else is forced to suffer the sexual harassment, exploitation, degradation and discrimination that she felt and continues to feel to this day,” the woman’s attorneys wrote.
Previous civil rights lawsuits against United Airlines include the company paying $99,000 to a former employee in January to settle a federal racial discrimination lawsuit.
A federal jury in Denver also ruled against the airline in a 2018 age discrimination lawsuit, awarding $800,000 to two former flight attendants who said they were fired because of their age.
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