Alaska Airlines Paid Military Leave Dispute Revived on Appeal

A pilot who accused Alaska Airlines Inc. of wrongly failing to provide paid military leave revived his class action when the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday joined other appeals courts in finding these claims viable.

The district judge who rejected Casey Clarkson’s lawsuit wrongly concluded that no reasonable jury could find military leave comparable to non-military leave, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said. The judge improperly focused on all types of military leave, rather than just short-term military leave, and he incorrectly disregarded “countless factual disputes” over the duration, purpose, and ability to control the various types ...