Two former pilot-reservists alleged the airline pushed them out over their military service
Delta Air Lines prevailed in a federal appeal after two former pilots claimed the airline forced them out over their military service.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on April 22, 2026, affirmed summary judgment for Delta in a case brought by Adam McLean and James Doyle, two former pilots who also served as reservists in the United States Air Force. The pilots sued under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, alleging that Delta constructively terminated them because of their military obligations, shortchanged their pension contributions during military leave, and denied them vacation-time accrual that other employees on comparable leave received.
The court sided with the airline on all three counts.
At the heart of the dispute was how the two pilots used their leave benefits. Delta investigated McLean in 2017 and found a pattern of overlapping sick leave and military duty. On at least eleven occasions, McLean called in sick at Delta and then performed military duties on the same day. He had been warned by a supervisor that doing side work while on sick leave could cost him his job. The investigation also turned up twenty-five instances where McLean falsely reported having military duty, keeping Delta from scheduling him on days he was actually available. He failed to report his military orders on more than one hundred days. At...
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