Published
September 20, 2026
Current and former Alaska Airlines pilots who took military leave lasting 31 to 60 consecutive days between October 10, 2004 and March 31, 2026, and who did not accrue vacation during that leave, will be paid automatically from Alaska's own records; there is no claim form to file. The deadline to opt out or object is October 31, 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for December 10, 2026.
Current Status
There is nothing to file. Alaska Airlines has agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve claims that its pilots did not accrue vacation during military leaves lasting between 31 and 60 consecutive days, and class members are paid from the airline's own employment records without submitting anything. The court granted preliminary approval on August 17, 2026 and notices have been mailed to the 163 people Class Counsel identified as class members. A class member who wants to leave the settlement or object to it must act by October 31, 2026. The final approval hearing is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on December 10, 2026 before Judge Robert S. Lasnik in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington; no final approval order has been entered and no payment date had been announced as of September 20, 2026.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Pending — Automatic Payment
Preliminarily approved August 17, 2026 · notices mailed · final approval hearing December 10, 2026 · no final approval order entered
Key Deadline
October 31, 2026
Postmark deadline to opt out or to object · there is no claim deadline, because there is no claim form
Estimated Payout
Pro rata share of $500K
Scaled to each class member's number of non-accrual months · 163 class members and 666 qualifying months in total · an individualized estimate was printed on each mailed notice · fees, expenses, administration, taxes and a service award come out of the same $500,000
Proof Required
Automatic Payment
No claim form and no notice ID — payments are calculated from Alaska Airlines' records and issued by the administrator
What Changed Recently?
This is a new claim process on a case that has been running since December 2018, and it reached settlement only after the claims in it were cut down twice. On March 13, 2026, the court granted part of Alaska Airlines' second summary judgment motion and denied the rest, which left a single claim alive: that pilots should have accrued vacation during military leaves lasting between 31 and 60 consecutive days. The parties then negotiated and executed a settlement agreement on June 17, 2026, and the court granted preliminary approval on August 17, 2026.Alaska Airlines denies that it violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act and denies any wrongdoing or liability. The agreement states the airline is settling to avoid the cost, disruption and uncertainty of continued litigation, and that nothing in it may be treated as a finding against the airline.
Who Qualifies?
The court certified a settlement class of current and former Alaska Airlines pilots who took military leave lasting between 31 and 60 consecutive days at any time from October 10, 2004 through March 31, 2026, and who did not accrue vacation during those leaves. People who previously settled with Alaska or obtained a judgment against it that resolved or released these same claims are excluded.Class Counsel identified 163 people who meet that definition from data Alaska produced in the case, and each of them was mailed a notice. Membership is determined by the airline's records rather than by anything a pilot does, so a pilot who never received the notice is still in the class if the records show a qualifying leave.
Two groups of pilots who followed this case will not see money from it. The sick-time accrual claim is gone, and so is the vacation claim for military leaves of 61 to 90 days — both fell out at summary judgment before the settlement was negotiated.
How Much Can You Get?
Payments are pro rata and keyed to time, not to salary. Under the proposed Plan of Allocation, each class member's share is the number of monthly bid periods in which that pilot did not accrue vacation because of a qualifying military leave, divided by 666 — the total number of such months across all 163 class members — multiplied by whatever is left in the fund. An individualized statement showing the number of non-accrual months and an estimated award was included with each mailed notice, and that statement is the figure to rely on.What comes out of the $500,000 first: Court-approved attorneys' fees, which Class Counsel has agreed not to request above $247,500; reimbursement of litigation expenses; the costs of administering the settlement; any taxes owed by the fund; and a service award to the class representative of no more than $5,000. No part of the fund reverts to Alaska Airlines.
Those deductions matter at this size. If the court awards the full requested fee and service award, less than $247,500 is left before administration costs and taxes, which works out to roughly $370 per non-accrual month — and with an average of about four qualifying months per class member, that points to a typical payment in the low four figures. That is an OpenClassActions estimate derived from the notice's own formula, not an official figure; the court may award less in fees, which would leave more for the class, and individual payments vary widely because the number of qualifying months does.
Is There a Claim Form or Notice ID?
Neither. There is no claim form in this settlement, no portal to log into, and no administrator-issued Class Member ID, PIN or code that anyone has to enter to be paid. The Settlement Administrator calculates each payment from Alaska's records and issues it. A pilot who does nothing at all still gets paid.The only reason to act is to leave the settlement or to object to it, and both of those are affirmative steps described below. A class member who is unsure whether the records captured their leave correctly can raise it through the official settlement website's contact page before the October 31 deadline.
What Are the Deadlines?
October 31, 2026 is the postmark deadline for both options. A written request for exclusion has to state the sender's name, address, email address and telephone number, identify the case, say plainly that the sender wants to be excluded from the settlement, and carry a signature and date. A written objection has to carry the same identifying details plus the grounds for the objection, a statement of whether the objector intends to appear at the final approval hearing, and a signature and date. Both go to the Settlement Administrator at the address printed on the mailed notice. The notice gives calendar dates and does not specify a timezone, so treat October 31, 2026 as a postmark date and nothing narrower.A class member cannot do both. Excluding yourself takes you out of the settlement entirely — no payment, but also no release, so the right to sue Alaska separately over these claims survives. Objecting keeps you in the class and puts your argument in front of the court.
What Do You Need to Do?
Nothing, if you want the payment. The one thing worth doing before October 31 is reading the release, because it is wider than the class definition that got you into the settlement. Section XIII of the Settlement Agreement releases the vacation-accrual claim for military leaves of up to 90 days taken through March 31, 2026, along with any other claims arising out of the same factual predicate, while the class itself is defined by leaves of 31 to 60 days. A pilot who stays in gives up the wider set.The settlement agreement, the plan of allocation, the amended complaint and the court's orders are all posted on the official Alaska Military Leave Settlement website, which is also where any change to the hearing date will be posted. Class Counsel's motion for fees and expenses is due to be filed and posted there before the objection deadline.
What Happens Next?
The final approval hearing is set for 11:00 a.m. on December 10, 2026 before Judge Robert S. Lasnik at the federal courthouse in Seattle. The notice states the hearing may be continued or held remotely without further notice to the class, with any change posted on the settlement website. At that hearing the court will decide whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, rule on the fee and expense request and the service award, and consider any objections.Money does not move at final approval. The agreement holds the fund in escrow and distributes it only after the final approval order becomes non-appealable, which means either the appeal window closing with no appeal or every appeal being resolved in the settlement's favor. An appeal of the fee award alone does not hold up payments to the class.
There is also a live exit ramp before then. If opt-outs exceed 5% of the identified class — about eight of the 163 — Alaska Airlines may withdraw from the settlement, and either side may withdraw if the court declines to certify a substantially similar class or to enter the orders the agreement requires. If that happens the agreement becomes void and the case goes back to litigation.
Sources and Verification
This page was written from the Notice of Class Action Settlement & Hearing and the executed Class Action Settlement Agreement in the case, together with the public docket. The notice is embedded in full below.- Notice of Class Action Settlement & Hearing, Synoracki v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., No. 2:18-cv-01784-RSL (W.D. Wash.) — embedded below
- Class Action Settlement Agreement executed June 17, 2026, including the class definition in Section I, the allocation terms in Section VI and the release in Section XIII
- Official Alaska Military Leave Settlement website — FAQs, important dates and case documents
- CourtListener docket for Synoracki v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., No. 2:18-cv-01784-RSL (W.D. Wash.)
Questions
Does the settlement cover sick time as well as vacation?
No. The sick-time accrual claim and the vacation claim for leaves of 61 to 90 days did not survive summary judgment. The only claim being settled is the claim that pilots should have accrued vacation during military leaves lasting between 31 and 60 consecutive days.
What happens if a class member moved and never received the notice?
Class membership is drawn from Alaska Airlines' own employment records rather than from anything a class member files, so a missed notice does not remove anyone from the class. The Settlement Administrator is required to trace and re-mail returned notices. Anyone unsure of their status can use the contact page on the official settlement website.
Why is the release broader than the class definition?
The class covers military leaves of 31 to 60 consecutive days, but the release in Section XIII of the Settlement Agreement extends to vacation-accrual claims for military leaves of up to 90 days taken through March 31, 2026, plus claims arising out of the same factual predicate. A class member who does not opt out gives up the wider set, not just the narrower one.
Can the settlement still fall apart after October 31, 2026?
Yes. Alaska Airlines may withdraw if opt-outs exceed 5% of the identified class, which is about eight of the 163 class members. Either side may also withdraw if the court does not certify a substantially similar class or does not enter the orders the agreement requires, in which case the agreement becomes void and the case returns to litigation.
Does a settlement payment change a pilot's 401(k) or pension?
The agreement states that the settlement creates no obligation to recalculate or adjust benefits under the Alaska Airlines, Inc. Pilots Investment and Savings Plan, and that payments are not counted toward employer contributions to retirement or 401(k) benefits or toward bonuses. It does say class members may individually choose to use a payment to make unmatched make-up contributions to their 401(k).
Official Settlement Notice
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Settlement Amount
$500,000
Case Title
Synoracki v. Alaska Airlines, Inc.
Case Number
2:18-cv-01784-RSL
Court
U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington
Final Approval Hearing
December 10, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Before Judge Robert S. Lasnik · may be continued or held remotely without further notice
Administrator
Simpluris
Official Website
Alaska Military Leave Settlement
