Nearly 2,000 ski instructors join lawsuit accusing Vail Resorts of wage violations

April 15, 2026

Thousands of ski and snowboard instructors are taking on one of the biggest names in the resort business, accusing the major company of shortchanging workers through a controversial pay setup.

Nearly 2,000 instructors have already joined a federal lawsuit against Vail Resorts, alleging the company failed to properly compensate employees for required job duties under the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to court filings cited by Vail Daily.

Vail owns three major Lake Tahoe resorts, Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood.

The case, Quint et al. v. Vail Resorts, Inc, claims instructors were required to perform significant “off-the-clock” work without pay — including time spent traveling between lesson sites, putting on and removing gear and attending mandatory training sessions, according to the official litigation website, as reported by Vail Daily. yahoo!finance