A federal district court in Colorado recently approved a settlement agreement resolving class action claims brought under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The documents filed in support of approval of the settlement stated that United Airlines agreed to pay $6.15 million to a class of pilots who alleged that United’s method of calculating and making pension contributions for pilots on military leave violated USERRA. The complaint alleged that United violated USERRA by calculating pension contributions for pilots on military leave based on the minimum flight hours guaranteed pursuant to the pilots’ collective bargaining agreement instead of on “the average rate of compensation or flight hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the military leave.” Tuten v. United Airlines Inc., D. Colo. Case No. 1:12-cv-01561 (settlement approved May 19, 2014).
