The Department of Justice said Thursday night (12 Jan. 2006) that it filed the lawsuit in U.S. district court in Dallas on behalf of three Naval Reserve and Air National Guard pilots.
Officials said it was the first time they had filed a class-action case charging an employer with violating a 1994 law designed to protect employees who leave their jobs temporarily to serve in military units. The government charged that American conducted an audit in 2001 and cut benefits of pilots who took leave for military service but didn't reduce benefits of pilots who took other types of leave.
"No reservists - indeed, no members of our armed forces - should ever be punished or discriminated against for answering the call of duty," said Wan J. Kim, assistant Attorney General for civil rights.
Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American Airlines, declined to comment on specifics of the lawsuit. Wagner said many pilots come out of the military and have obligations for further service. "We are committed to doing our best to help them do their duty to their country," he said.
Wagner declined to say whether employees who take leave for military service or any other reason lose their benefits while they are gone.
The Department of Justice identified the pilots as Naval Reserve Capt. Mark Woodall, Naval Reserve Commander Michael McMahon, and Paul Madson, a lieutenant colonel in the South Dakota Air National Guard.
The government said efforts to settle the cases had failed.
I don't know what it is about airlines that makes them so anxious to cut employee benefits. It seems like I'm always reading about another one, and it seems like it's always their first answer to any given problem. I also seem to recall a 15 billion dollar corporate welfare check for one of them, too...
Posted by: Anonymous | January 14, 2006 4:19 PM | Permalink to Comment