Alaska Airlines Pilot Appeals Military Pay Suit to Ninth Circuit

A pilot who accuses Alaska Airlines Inc. and Horizon Air Industries Inc. of wrongly failing to provide paid military leave is appealing the dismissal of his case to the Ninth Circuit, federal court papers filed in Washington show.

Casey Clarkson will ask the appeals court to revive his class action claiming the airlines violate the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act when they offer paid leave for illness, jury duty, and bereavement, but not for military service.

Last month, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington rejected Clarkson’s lawsuit, reasoning that military ...