Nearly 2,000 Ski Instructors Join Federal Lawsuit Against Vail Resorts Over Unpaid Wages

Nearly 2,000 current and former Vail Resorts ski and snowboard instructors have joined a federal collective action against the company, alleging years of unpaid wages and unreimbursed expenses.

The case, Quint et al. v. Vail Resorts, Inc., was originally filed in 2020 by three Beaver Creek employees. It alleges that Vail violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay instructors for required "off-the-clock" work — including time spent traveling between job sites, putting on and taking off uniforms, and attending training sessions. The lawsuit also claims instructors were never reimbursed for necessary job expenses like ski equipment and work-related cell phone use.

Vail Resorts has denied all the allegations and maintains it has paid its instructors in compliance with wage laws.

Roughly 24,000 current and former instructors were notified of the case by mail and email, but consent forms filed in federal court on Friday, April 10 show only about 2,000 have opted in so far. The deadline to join was April 15, 2026, but Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter ordered both sides to a discovery hearing on April 15 that could extend that deadline. Plaintiffs are asking the court for more time, arguing that many eligible instructors may not have received notice.

This is the second major class action Vail Resorts is facing right now. Last month, Vail and Alterra Mountain Company were hit with a separate federal antitrust class action alleging they inflated lift ticket and season pass prices across North America. You can read our coverage of that case here.

Who's Eligible

Anyone who worked as a ski or snowboard instructor at any Vail Resorts-owned ski area at any time since the 2017-18 season.

What You Could Get

The lawsuit is seeking back wages and reimbursement of job-related expenses. There is no settlement yet, and payouts will depend on the outcome of the case and how much each instructor is individually owed. Attorneys for the plaintiffs have argued that class members could be owed thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in back pay.

How to File

The opt-in deadline was April 15, 2026, but a judge's order this week may extend it. Download ClassyAction to stay updated on this lawsuit and get notified if the deadline is extended or when the payout drops.