Published
September 30, 2026
Sun Country Airlines pilots who returned from qualified military leave between July 21, 2011 and December 31, 2025, and certain of their beneficiaries, will be paid automatically from the $1.55 million Sun Country 401(k) class action settlement if it is approved; there is no claim form to file. Objections are due October 30, 2026, data challenges November 6, and the final approval hearing is November 17, 2026.
Current Status
There is no claim form: class members identified in Sun Country's records will be paid automatically if the court approves the settlement. The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota certified the class and granted preliminary approval on August 11, 2026. The deadline to object is October 30, 2026, and the deadline to challenge Sun Country's data is November 6, 2026. The final approval hearing is set for November 17, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Central Time by Zoom. No payment date had been announced as of September 30, 2026.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Pending Final Approval
Deadline
October 30, 2026
Objections · data challenges postmarked by November 6, 2026
Estimated Payout
Varies
Missed contributions plus lost earnings · $1.55M fund · about 131 pilots
Proof Required
Automatic Payment
No claim form · paid from Sun Country's records · no opt-out
What Changed Recently?
Sun Country, Inc., the Board of Trustees of the Sun Country, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and its members agreed to pay $1,550,000 to resolve Smith v. Sun Country, Inc., et al., a class action over employer contributions for pilots who left for military service. The court certified the class and preliminarily approved the deal on August 11, 2026, and notice went out to the pilots identified in Sun Country's data.The lawsuit, filed on February 27, 2024, alleges that Sun Country did not make the 401(k) contributions the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) requires for a returning servicemember's time away, and that the plan's fiduciaries breached their duties under ERISA by not requiring those contributions. Sun Country pilots receive a nonelective employer contribution based on their pay, so leave that was not credited meant a smaller retirement account. Sun Country and the other defendants deny wrongdoing and any liability, and the settlement is not an admission.
While producing data in the case in September 2025, Sun Country identified that its payroll calculations for returning pilots had not consistently matched the method it intended to use and disclosed that to the court and plaintiffs' counsel. The company says it switched to a revised calculation on October 1, 2025. The parties settled at a second court-supervised settlement conference on June 10, 2026, after a first one in August 2025 ended without a deal.
A separate case produced the Alaska Airlines pilot military leave settlement, which pays pilots for vacation that did not accrue during military leave.
Who Qualifies?
The class covers current and former Sun Country pilots who participated in the Sun Country, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and who:- completed a period of qualified military service between July 21, 2011 and December 31, 2025, after becoming a Sun Country employee;
- returned from that leave and were re-employed at Sun Country; and
- did not receive a plan contribution for that service at the rate USERRA requires — the rate they would have earned but for the leave, or, when that rate is not reasonably certain, their average pay rate over the 12 months before the leave.
How Much Can You Get?
Payments are individual. Under the proposed plan of allocation, each pilot's share is based on the contributions that plaintiffs' expert calculated should have been made for their military leave, plus the investment earnings those contributions would have produced, minus any contributions Sun Country actually made. The notice says the settlement administrator can share the underlying data but cannot yet give an estimate for any one person.Class counsel will ask for attorneys' fees of up to one-third of the fund plus out-of-pocket expenses, which were more than $72,000 when the notice was written, and service awards totaling $35,000 for the class representatives. Sun Country pays administration costs, independent fiduciary fees and plan-level distribution costs separately, so those do not come out of the $1.55 million. If the court awarded the maximum requested amounts, roughly $925,000 would remain for the class, an average of about $7,000 across 131 pilots. That average is OCA's arithmetic, not a figure from the settlement, and individual amounts will vary widely with the length and timing of each pilot's leave.
For pilots who still have a plan balance, payments go into their 401(k) account where possible and are invested according to their existing elections, or the plan's default investment if none are on file. Anyone without a current balance, or any amount the plan cannot accept, is paid by check or electronic transfer. The agreement anticipates the Sun Country plan merging into The Allegiant 401(k) Retirement Plan and applies to that successor plan. No fees are charged to class members for administering or distributing the settlement.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
None. Pilots identified in Sun Country's data are paid without filing anything. The only paperwork is optional: a class member who believes Sun Country's records about their leave dates, pay rate or contributions are wrong, or who was left out of the class, can submit a data challenge with a detailed statement and documentation showing their information is more accurate. Class members should keep their mailing address current with the settlement administrator, since some payments are made by check.What Is the Deadline?
- October 30, 2026 — last day to object to the settlement, the fee request, the service awards or the plan of allocation. The objection must be received, or postmarked if mailed, by that date.
- November 6, 2026 — last day to mail a data challenge to the settlement administrator, measured by postmark.
- November 17, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Central Time — final approval hearing.
How Do You Take Action?
The official Sun Country USERRA Settlement website carries the notice, the settlement agreement, the proposed plan of allocation, the preliminary approval order, Sun Country's written explanation of its contribution method, and the settlement administrator's contact page.A written objection must include your name and contact information, the case name and number, a statement that you are a class member, the specific grounds for the objection with any supporting documents, whether you or a lawyer plan to appear at the hearing, and your signature and the date. It is filed with the court and served on class counsel and defense counsel; the notice on the settlement website lists where. A data challenge goes to the settlement administrator by mail.
What Happens Next?
Before the hearing, an independent fiduciary hired by Sun Country must decide whether to approve the release on behalf of the plan under the Department of Labor's Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 2003-39; the notice sets October 16, 2026 for that determination, and approval is a condition of the settlement. Judge Kate M. Menendez will then hold the final approval hearing on November 17, 2026, by Zoom, with access details to be posted on the settlement website.Money is distributed only after the approval order becomes final and any appeal is resolved. If the settlement is approved, class members release claims against Sun Country, the plan and its fiduciaries over 401(k) contributions for military leave during the class period, including related ERISA and USERRA claims. If it is not approved, the case resumes and no one is paid under this agreement.
Separately, Sun Country must give each pilot who returns from military leave between January 1, 2026 and at least January 1, 2027 a written breakdown of how that leave's contribution was calculated, including the lookback period and pay rates used.
Sources and Verification
- Official Sun Country USERRA Settlement website — overview, important dates and FAQs
- Notice of Class Action Settlement & Hearing, Smith, et al. v. Sun Country, Inc., et al., No. 24-cv-619-KMM-EMB (embedded below)
- Class Action Settlement Agreement (ECF No. 89-1, filed July 30, 2026)
- Proposed Plan of Allocation
- Order Granting Preliminary Approval
- Class Action Complaint, ECF No. 1 (D. Minn. filed February 27, 2024)
Questions
Can a Sun Country pilot opt out and sue separately?
No. The court certified this as a mandatory, non-opt-out class, so every class member is bound by the settlement if it is approved. A class member who disagrees can object by October 30, 2026, but cannot exclude themselves.
What if Sun Country's records about my military leave or pay are wrong?
The settlement administrator can tell a class member what Sun Country's data shows about their leave dates, pay rate and 401(k) contributions. To challenge that data, or to show you belong in the class, mail a detailed statement with supporting documentation to the settlement administrator, postmarked by November 6, 2026. Contact details are on the official settlement website.
How will the money be paid if I left Sun Country or already cashed out my 401(k)?
Pilots who still have a balance in the plan will generally have their share deposited into their 401(k) account. Anyone without a current plan balance, such as a former pilot who took a full distribution, is paid by check or by electronic transfer where banking information is on file. Any portion that cannot be deposited into the plan is also paid directly.
Do spouses or other beneficiaries of Sun Country pilots get paid?
Beneficiaries are class members, but only a beneficiary entitled to an immediate payment under the plan or ERISA receives money, such as an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order or the beneficiary of a pilot who has died. Where several beneficiaries share one account, the allocation is divided according to the plan's terms.
Does the settlement change how Sun Country handles 401(k) contributions after military leave?
Sun Country says it adopted a revised calculation method on October 1, 2025. Under the settlement it must publish a written explanation of that method and, for pilots returning from military leave through at least January 1, 2027, give each one an individualized written breakdown of how their contribution was calculated.
Official Settlement Notice
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Settlement Amount
$1,550,000
Case Title
Smith, et al. v. Sun Country, Inc., et al.
Case Number
0:24-cv-00619-KMM-EMB
Court
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
Final Approval Hearing
November 17, 2026 at 1:00 PM CT
By Zoom before Judge Kate M. Menendez; access details on the settlement website
Administrator
Angeion Group
Official Website
Sun Country USERRA
