Sun Country Pilot Military Leave 401(k) Settlement

Sun Country pilots only, about 131 of them. This settlement resolves claims that Sun Country, Inc. failed to make the 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan contributions that USERRA requires for pilots who took military leave, and that the Plan's fiduciaries breached their ERISA duties by not requiring those contributions. Sun Country denies doing anything wrong. Sun Country will pay $1,550,000, and eligible pilots are paid automatically. Four things about this settlement are unusual, and you should know all four before reading further. First, this is one of the smallest classes you will ever see: about 131 pilots. Class Counsel identified roughly 131 current and former Sun Country pilots in Sun Country's own payroll data, plus their beneficiaries. It is pilots only. Flight attendants, mechanics, ground and ramp crew, gate agents and corporate staff are not covered, and Sun Country passengers are not covered at all — this is a retirement-plan case, not a ticket, fare, baggage or delay case. Second, there is no claim form, no proof to submit and no claim deadline. The court-approved Notice says identified Class Members do not need to do anything to be paid. The November 6, 2026 date on this page is the deadline to challenge Sun Country's data about your leave, not a deadline to claim; a separate October 30, 2026 deadline applies only if you want to object. Third, you cannot opt out. The Court certified a mandatory, non-opt-out class, so every class member is bound by the release if the Settlement is approved — objecting is the only way to push back. Fourth, the one-third cap covers the lawyers' fees only, not every deduction. Attorneys' fees of up to about $516,667, expenses already over $72,000, and $35,000 in service awards all come out of the same $1.55 million — but unusually, Sun Country pays administration and distribution costs separately, on top of the fund, so those do not shrink what pilots get. If the Court awarded the maximum requested, roughly $925,000 would remain for the class, an average near $7,000 per pilot — our arithmetic, not a settlement figure, and individual amounts will vary widely. The Final Approval Hearing is November 17, 2026.

Do I Qualify?

You may be eligible if:

• You were a current or former PILOT of Sun Country, Inc. and a participant in the Sun Country, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan. Pilot status is the first and hardest gate in the certified class definition, and it is where nearly everyone who finds this page falls out
• After you had already become a Sun Country employee, you completed a period of qualified military service between July 21, 2011 and December 31, 2025. Service completed before you joined Sun Country does not count
• You returned from that military leave and were re-employed at Sun Country. A pilot who left for military service and never came back does not meet the class definition
• You did not receive a Plan contribution for that military service at the rate USERRA requires - the rate you would have received but for the leave where that rate was reasonably certain, and otherwise the rate based on your average compensation during the 12 months immediately before the leave. If Sun Country already contributed at that rate for your leave, you are outside the class
• You are a beneficiary of such a pilot. Beneficiaries are class members and are bound by the release, but only a beneficiary entitled to an immediate payment under the Plan or ERISA actually receives money - such as an alternate payee under a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, or the beneficiary of a pilot who has died
• WHO DOES NOT QUALIFY - THE BIG ONE: everyone at Sun Country who is not a pilot. The certified class says "current and former pilots." Flight attendants, mechanics, ramp and ground crew, gate agents, dispatchers, customer service and corporate employees are all outside this class regardless of their military service or what happened to their 401(k)
• ALSO DOES NOT QUALIFY: Sun Country passengers and customers. Nothing in this settlement involves tickets, fares, baggage, delays or cancellations. It is entirely about 401(k) contributions owed to pilots under USERRA
• EXCLUDED BY THE NOTICE: any person who, before the Effective Date, already settled or obtained a final, non-appealable judgment of dismissal with prejudice on any claim within the scope of the Released Claims; and the Fiduciary Defendants, their beneficiaries, and their immediate family members, heirs, successors and assigns
• THE CLASS IS ABOUT 131 PEOPLE. Class Counsel identified approximately 131 current and former Sun Country pilots from Sun Country's data, plus beneficiaries. This is a very small, already-identified class - not an open settlement the general public can join
• NO STATE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT. The class definition has no residency test. A former Sun Country pilot living anywhere in the country is in the class on the same footing as one still based at MSP
• YOU CANNOT OPT OUT. The Court certified a mandatory, non-opt-out class. Every class member is bound by the release if the Court approves the Settlement, and the only way to tell the Court you disagree is to object by October 30, 2026

There is no claim form and no proof to submit anywhere in this settlement. What the Notice requires of you: nothing. The court-approved Notice states that Class Members who have been identified in Sun Country's data do not need to do anything in order to receive payment. There is no form to submit, no receipts to upload, no Notice ID to enter and no portal to log into. Eligibility was determined from Sun Country's own payroll and Plan records before the Notice ever went out. How to tell whether you were identified. The Notice says that if it reached you by mail or email and you did not request it, you are one of the Class Members identified in Sun Country's data. If you are not sure, contact the Settlement Administrator at 1 (833) 448-4348 or Info@SunCountryUSERRA.com and ask them to confirm. The only paperwork in this settlement is optional, and it runs the other direction. If you believe Sun Country's records about your military leave dates, your pay rate, your average rate of compensation or your 401(k) contributions are wrong, or if you believe you belong in the Class and no notice reached you, you may submit a data challenge. That one does require documentation: the Notice says you must mail a detailed statement and documentation to the Settlement Administrator showing that the data you are providing is more reliable or accurate than the data Sun Country provided. It must be postmarked on or before November 6, 2026 and mailed to Sun Country USERRA Settlement Administrator, 1650 Arch St., Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19130. Documents worth pulling together if you plan to challenge the data. Military orders and DD-214s or equivalent service records establishing the exact dates of each period of qualified service; Sun Country pay records or W-2s covering the 12 months before each leave, which is what the average-compensation fallback rate is built on; and 401(k) Plan statements showing what was and was not contributed for those periods. Ask the Administrator first for what Sun Country's data actually says about you, so you know what you are contesting. What the Administrator cannot give you. The Notice is explicit that the Settlement Administrator can tell you the data Sun Country provided about you, but will not be able to provide an estimated calculation of your payment at this time. Nobody can tell you your number today. The one thing that can actually cost you money. Part of your payment may be made by check. Keep your mailing address current with the Settlement Administrator, and your banking information on file if you want an electronic transfer. This matters most for former pilots who have moved since leaving Sun Country.

What Happened?

Sun Country, Inc., the Board of Trustees of the Sun Country, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and its members agreed to settle Smith, et al. v. Sun Country, Inc., et al., Case No. 24-cv-619-KMM-EMB, a class action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota before Judge Kate M. Menendez. The case was filed February 27, 2024 by class representatives Nicholas Smith, Derek George and Taylor Lehr

The Complaint alleges that the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and the terms of the Plan required Sun Country to make employer contributions when pilots who took leave for qualified military service returned to work, that Sun Country failed to make those contributions since 2011, and that Sun Country and the Board of Trustees also violated ERISA by failing to require that those contributions be made. Sun Country pilots receive a nonelective employer contribution tied to their pay, so leave that was not properly credited meant a smaller retirement account

Sun Country denies that it did anything wrong or violated any law. The Notice states that the Court did not decide in favor of either side, and the Settlement is not an admission of liability

After the case was filed, Sun Country produced documents and payroll data, the case was stayed while Class Counsel and a retained expert analyzed it, and the expert calculated the contributions and lost earnings Plaintiffs contend were owed. A first in-person settlement conference before a Magistrate Judge on August 22, 2025 ended without an agreement, and Sun Country agreed to produce additional data through December 31, 2025 so Class Counsel could assess whether contributions were by then being made correctly

Sun Country has represented that effective October 1, 2025 it implemented a revised methodology for calculating contributions for periods of military leave, intended to comply with USERRA, ERISA and the Plan's terms, and it provided data for October 1 through December 31, 2025 so Plaintiffs' expert could evaluate that representation

The parties reached a settlement at a second court-supervised settlement conference on June 10, 2026. On August 11, 2026 the Court certified the Class and granted preliminary approval, and the Settlement Administrator mailed and emailed the court-approved Notice to the Class Members identified in Sun Country's records

The monetary relief is $1,550,000, which the Notice describes as inclusive of attorney's fees and costs. Attorneys' fees of up to one-third of the fund, out-of-pocket expenses already exceeding $72,000, and $35,000 in total service awards for the three class representatives are all deducted from that fund, and the remainder is paid to eligible Class Members. Class Counsel report having spent more than 470 hours on the case

Unusually, administration is NOT paid from the fund. The Notice states that in addition to the $1.55 million, Sun Country will separately pay the costs to administer the Settlement and make distributions to Class Members, and Sun Country separately hires and pays for the Independent Fiduciary. Class Members are charged nothing for administration or distribution

Payments are allocated under a proposed Plan of Allocation: each Class Member's share is the contributions Plaintiffs' expert calculated should have been made for their qualified military leave in the Class Period, plus the lost earnings those contributions would have produced, minus any contributions Sun Country actually made. The full Plan of Allocation is posted on the settlement website

The Settlement also carries non-monetary relief. Sun Country agreed to publish a written explanation of its post-October 2025 contribution methodology, posted on its intranet until January 1, 2027 or until the Plan merges into The Allegiant 401(k) Retirement Plan, whichever is later. It also agreed to give each pilot returning from qualified military service between January 1, 2026 and January 1, 2027 an individualized written explanation of how that contribution was calculated, including the lookback period, credit value, pay rates, guarantee floor and any adjustments or exclusions

Class Counsel are R. Joseph Barton of The Barton Firm LLP in Washington, DC and Thomas G. Jarrard of the Law Office of Thomas G. Jarrard, PLLC in Spokane, WA. Defendants are represented by Brienne M. Letourneau of Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago and Tara C. Norgard of Carlson Caspers in Minneapolis. Class Members are not charged for Class Counsel

An Independent Fiduciary hired and paid by Sun Country must issue a written determination by October 16, 2026 approving the release of the Released Claims on the Plan's behalf under the Department of Labor's Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 2003-39. That determination is a condition of the Settlement. The Final Approval Hearing is set for 1:00 p.m. Central Time on November 17, 2026 before Judge Menendez. If the Settlement is not approved, the case proceeds as if no settlement had been reached and no payments are made

How to File Your Claim

1. THERE IS NOTHING TO FILE. READ THAT FIRST, BECAUSE IT IS THE OPPOSITE OF ALMOST EVERY OTHER SETTLEMENT PAGE YOU WILL READ TODAY. The court-approved Notice states that Class Members who have been identified in Sun Country's data do not need to do anything in order to receive payment. There is no claim form, no online portal to submit, no receipts to gather and no Class Member deadline for getting paid. If the Court grants final approval, the money comes to you. STEP ONE - WORK OUT WHETHER YOU WERE ALREADY IDENTIFIED. The Notice is explicit: if the Notice reached you by mail or email and you did not request it, you are one of the Class Members identified in Sun Country's data. If you are not sure, call the Settlement Administrator at 1 (833) 448-4348 or email Info@SunCountryUSERRA.com and ask them to confirm your status. That call is the single most useful thing a Sun Country pilot can do with this page. STEP TWO - KEEP YOUR MAILING ADDRESS AND BANKING DETAILS CURRENT WITH THE ADMINISTRATOR. This is the one piece of housekeeping that can actually cost you money. Part of your payment may be made by check. A check sent to an address you left years ago is a payment you do not get. Former pilots who have moved since leaving Sun Country should call the Administrator now. Write to Sun Country USERRA Settlement Administrator, 1650 Arch St., Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19130. STEP THREE - IF SUN COUNTRY'S DATA ABOUT YOU LOOKS WRONG, CHALLENGE IT BY NOVEMBER 6, 2026. The Administrator will tell you what Sun Country's data shows about your military leave dates, your pay rate, your average rate of compensation and the basis for calculating your 401(k) contribution. To challenge that data, or to show that you are a Class Member with a valid claim when no notice reached you, you must MAIL a detailed statement and supporting documentation to the Settlement Administrator showing that your information is more reliable or accurate than Sun Country's. It must be POSTMARKED on or before November 6, 2026. This is the deadline listed at the top of this page. It is a data-challenge deadline, not a claim deadline - nobody has to meet it just to be paid. STEP FOUR - IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THE DEAL ITSELF, OBJECT BY OCTOBER 30, 2026. You may object to the Settlement, the attorneys' fees and expenses, the service awards, or the Plan of Allocation. The written objection must be received, or postmarked if mailed, on or before October 30, 2026, and it must contain your name, address, email and phone
2. the case title Smith, et al. v. Sun Country, Inc., et al., No. 24-cv-619-KMM-EMB (D. Minn.)
3. a statement that you are a Class Member and the basis for that
4. the specific grounds for your objection with any supporting documents
5. whether you or your counsel intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing
6. and your dated signature. It is filed with the Court and served on Class Counsel and Defendants' counsel at the addresses listed in the Notice. STEP FIVE - UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CANNOT OPT OUT. The Notice answers this in one word: No. The Court certified this as a mandatory, non-opt-out class action. You cannot exclude yourself, you cannot keep your own right to sue Sun Country over these 401(k) contributions, and objecting is the only way to tell the Court you disagree. WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DO NOTHING: you are paid, assuming the Court approves the Settlement and you were identified in Sun Country's data. Doing nothing is the intended path here.
7. Visit the official claim form: https://www.suncountryuserra.com

How Much Will I Actually Get?

THERE IS NO FIXED PER-PERSON AMOUNT, NO TIER TO PICK AND NO MENU. Every eligible Class Member is paid on one single formula, and that is the whole structure. Under the proposed Plan of Allocation, your share equals the 401(k) contributions that Plaintiffs' expert calculated should have been made for your periods of qualified military leave during the Class Period, PLUS the lost investment earnings those contributions would have produced, MINUS any contributions Sun Country actually made, as reflected in Sun Country's data. THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND THE LOST EARNINGS ARE TWO PARTS OF ONE CALCULATION, NOT TWO SEPARATE AWARDS. You are not paid a contributions amount and then a second earnings amount on top as though they were stacking benefits. They are components of one number, and the actually-made contributions are subtracted back out of it. THE ONE-THIRD CAP APPLIES TO THE LAWYERS' FEES ONLY - NOT TO EVERYTHING COMING OUT OF THE FUND. Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys' fees from the Settlement Fund in an amount not to exceed one-third of the fund, which is roughly $516,667 on $1.55 million. That one-third cap covers the fee request and nothing else. On top of it and outside it, Class Counsel also seek reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, which the Notice says already exceeded $72,000 when it was written and are still growing, plus service awards totaling $35,000 for the three class representatives, Nicholas Smith, Derek George and Taylor Lehr. All of that comes out of the same $1.55 million before pilots are paid. The Court may award less than requested. THE CARVE-OUT CUTS THE OTHER WAY, AND THIS PART IS GENUINELY BETTER THAN USUAL. In most settlements the fund also swallows notice and administration costs. Here it does not. The Notice says that IN ADDITION to the $1.55 million, Sun Country will separately pay the costs to administer the Settlement and to make distributions to Class Members, and separately hires and pays for the Independent Fiduciary. Those costs do not reduce what pilots receive. No fees are charged to Class Members for administering or distributing the settlement. SO THE HEADLINE OVERSTATES THE CLASS POT, BUT BY LESS THAN USUAL. If the Court awarded the maximum requested - one-third in fees, the expenses and the service awards - roughly $925,000 of the $1.55 million would remain for the class. Spread across approximately 131 pilots that averages around $7,000 each. THAT AVERAGE IS OUR ARITHMETIC, NOT A FIGURE FROM THE SETTLEMENT. Neither the Notice nor the Plan of Allocation publishes any projected per-person payment. INDIVIDUAL AMOUNTS WILL VARY ENORMOUSLY, AND THE ADMINISTRATOR CANNOT YET TELL YOU YOURS. A pilot who took a few weeks of military leave in 2024 and a pilot who served repeated long deployments since 2011 are in the same class with wildly different numbers, because the formula runs on the length and timing of each leave and on the compounding of lost earnings since then. The Notice says outright that the Settlement Administrator can tell you what data Sun Country provided about you, but will NOT be able to give you an estimated calculation at this time, and that your actual amount may be higher or lower depending on data corrections and challenges, the total number of Class Members, and the amounts the Court approves for fees, expenses and service awards. HOW THE MONEY REACHES YOU DEPENDS ON WHETHER YOU STILL HAVE A PLAN BALANCE. If you have a current account balance in the Plan - typically a current pilot, or a former pilot who never took a full distribution - the Settlement contemplates paying your share through the Plan wherever feasible, to preserve the tax-favored treatment. Where IRS limits or other constraints mean part or all of it cannot go through the Plan, that portion is paid by check, or by electronic funds transfer where banking information is on file, and may be subject to tax withholding and reporting. If you have no current balance - for example a former pilot who already took a full distribution - the whole payment comes 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. NOTHING IS PAID UNTIL THE SETTLEMENT IS FINAL. The Final Approval Hearing is set for 1:00 p.m. Central Time on November 17, 2026 before Judge Kate M. Menendez, by Zoom, with access details to be posted on the settlement website. Separately, an Independent Fiduciary hired and paid by Sun Country must issue a written determination by October 16, 2026 approving the release on the Plan's behalf under the Department of Labor's Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 2003-39; that approval is a condition of the Settlement. Money is distributed only after the approval order becomes final and any appeal is resolved. No payment date has been announced. If the Settlement is not approved, the case proceeds as if no settlement had been reached and no payments are made.

Last reviewed: September 30, 2026 | Information verified from court records and official settlement documents.

Frequently Asked Questions