Consent forms filed in federal court on Friday show that nearly 2,000 ski and snowboard instructors have joined a collective action against Vail Resorts, alleging Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit against the company.

The case, Quint et al. v. Vail Resorts, Inc., alleges Vail Resorts failed to properly compensate snowsports instructors for required job duties. According to the official litigation website, plaintiffs claim employees were not paid for “off-the-clock” work, including time spent traveling between job sites, putting on and removing equipment, and attending training sessions.

The lawsuit also alleges that instructors were not reimbursed for necessary job expenses such as ski equipment and work-related cell phone use, and will attempt to recoup those expenses from the company for employees.

Vail Resorts has denied all allegations, maintaining it has complied with wage laws and properly paid its employees.

Anyone who was a ski or snowboard instructor at any Vail Resorts-owned ski area at any time since the 2017-18 season is eligible to join.

To participate in the lawsuit, eligible instructors must actively opt in by submitting a consent form, available at vailresortsinstructorwagelitigation.com under the “Join Collective” option.

The deadline to opt in is April 15, 2026, and anyone who does not submit a consent form by that date will not be part of the case and will not receive any share of a potential settlement or judgment.

But a judge’s order issued this week could result in an extension of that deadline, as Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter, on Monday, ordered both parties to participate in a discovery hearing on Wednesday.

The case attempted to notice roughly 24,000 potential employees via postal mail and email. But with fewer than 2,000 opt-ins so far, plaintiffs are concerned that not everyone who is eligible has received the notice.

The parties are scheduled to discuss this issue at the hearing on Wednesday.

Original reporting from vaildaily.com