American Airlines flight attendants accuse airline of breaking California privacy laws with Me@Work app

Claims of undisclosed data collection

American Airlines flight attendants have levelled allegations that the carrier may have breached California privacy laws after rolling out the “Me@Work” performance-monitoring app. Although the app was officially launched in April, it had reportedly been gathering employee data in the background for roughly a year before staff were told.

How Me@Work scores American Airlines flight attendants

According to the PYOK website, “Me@Work” gives cabin crew a combined score built from several measures, including customer satisfaction, attendance, credit card sales, delays and how they use their company-issued iPhones.

Flight attendants - and their union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) - say they only became aware of the extent of the tracking once they accessed the app and found ratings generated from months of previously collected data.

APFA says Me@Work may breach the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

The union says the app was introduced without any prior consultation, with APFA learning about the system at the same time as crew members. For now, American Airlines maintains that the tool is intended solely to let employees compare their performance with colleagues, and that it is not being used for disciplinary action.

Even so, APFA says local complaints were dismissed by the airline, and it now argues the app could violate the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The union points to a lack of clarity around how the scores are calculated, and says there is no way to appeal or challenge inaccurate information.

According to APFA, “workers have the right to know when they are being monitored, what information is collected, and how it is used. They should also be able to access their personal data and request corrections or deletions when necessary.”

The union also says that “Me@Work shows that American Airlines management has been compiling individual data without allowing us to request corrections, view the information collected, verify its accuracy, or dispute incorrect data.”

Flight attendants have repeatedly criticised both the way the information is gathered and how it is applied. One of the main concerns is using customer satisfaction ratings to rank cabin crew, as an individual’s results can be influenced by the conduct of other team members, potentially dragging down the overall outcome.

APFA stated: “The Me@Work app and the philosophy behind it are flawed in many ways. Most concerning is that the scores are based on data we cannot review, verify, or dispute. Transparency, accuracy, and accountability must accompany any employee evaluation system.”