102 F.4th 164
3d Cir.2024Background
- A class of American Airlines pilots who are military reservists alleged the airline violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) by not providing paid leave and profit-sharing credit during short-term military leave, despite providing these benefits during jury-duty and bereavement leave.
- Plaintiffs took short-term military leave (16 days or less), jury-duty leave, and bereavement leave between 2013 and 2021; jury-duty and bereavement leaves were paid, military leave was not.
- Profit-sharing is calculated based on W-2 reported earnings; because pilots were not paid during military leave, these periods were excluded from profit-sharing calculations.
- District Court granted summary judgment for American Airlines on all claims, holding military leave was not comparable to paid leaves and that the profit-sharing plan unambiguously excluded imputed earnings for military leave.
- Plaintiffs appealed, arguing summary judgment was improper on the USERRA comparability question, and the profit-sharing plan should be construed to credit military leave.
- The Third Circuit reviewed these rulings de novo.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is short-term military leave comparable to jury/bereavement leave under USERRA? | Military leave is similar in duration and purpose to jury/bereavement leave, so must be treated similarly for pay. | Military leave is not comparable due to differences in duration, frequency, purpose, and control. | Comparability is a factual question; summary judgment reversed. |
| Entitlement to profit-sharing credit for military leave | Profit-sharing should include imputed income for military leave, as for other paid leave. | Plan unambiguously excludes imputed income for military leave; only W-2 income counts. | Plan unambiguously excludes imputed income; summary judgment affirmed for defendant. |
Key Cases Cited
- Travers v. Fed. Express Corp., 8 F.4th 198 (3d Cir. 2021) (USERRA requires pay parity for comparable forms of leave)
- John F. Harkins Co. v. Waldinger Corp., 796 F.2d 657 (3d Cir. 1986) (contract interpretation reviewed de novo)
- Kern v. Sitel Corp., 517 F.3d 306 (5th Cir. 2008) (employer’s interpretation of incentive comp plans controls absent bad faith)
- El Paso Field Servs., L.P. v. MasTec N. Am., Inc., 389 S.W.3d 802 (Tex. 2012) (Texas contract construction principle: unambiguous terms control)
- Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1986) (summary judgment standard)