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United Airlines Lawsuit

On May 10, 2022, attorneys at Kantor & Kantor, along with co-counsel Jamie Franklin, Mark DeBofsy and Jeffrey Lewis, filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court in Chicago, Illinois, concerning the right of retirees to participate in later-offered early retirement programs (often referred to as “Oscar’s Promise”).

The following information discusses the lawsuit on behalf of United employees who retired from United Airlines between August 17, 2017, and December 31, 2020.

Case Overview

In 2017, United Airlines (“United”) recognized that employees were reluctant to retire because they did not want to miss out on enhanced retirement benefits the airline periodically offered.

The lawsuit alleges that United violated federal and state law by denying retirees participation in the enhanced early retirement programs offered within 36 months of their retirement. The lawsuit is brought on behalf of all United retirees who retired between August 17, 2017, and December 31, 2020, who would have been eligible for a later-offered retirement program had they not previously retired.

Case Name

The case name is Hoffman, et al. v. United Airlines, et al., No. 1:21-cv-06395, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois.

Status of the Litigation

The original plaintiffs filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on November 30, 2021, and, shortly thereafter, another set of plaintiffs filed a case in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. A third set of plaintiffs filed a third case in the Central District of California in 2022.

All three cases were consolidated in the Northern District of Illinois on May 10, 2022.

United Airlines and the other defendants filed a motion to dismiss on June 1, 2022.

On April 26, 2023, plaintiffs and defendants agreed to a stay of the case in order to attend early mediation of the case. The mediation took place on July 27, 2023, and the parties were unable to reach an agreement.

On May 1, 2025, the Court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ case. Click here to read the order.

On May 29, 2025, Plaintiffs filed a Notice of Appeal with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Then, with the assistance of Circuit Mediator Jillisa Brittan, Plaintiffs and Defendants reached a class settlement. A Class Settlement Agreement was executed and the Seventh Circuit has remanded the case back to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to make a fairness determination of the settlement.

The parties filed a Joint Motion for Preliminary Approval of the settlement on April 20, 2026. The Court held a hearing on April 28, 2026, and entered the Preliminary Approval Order on May 14, 2026. You can read the court’s order here.

The Final Approval Hearing is scheduled for September 1, 2026.

Class notices containing relevant information for class members was emailed out on June 26, 2026. You can read the class notice here.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the settlement administrator at their toll-free number 1-888-808-7073 or Info@HoffmanSettlement.com.

You can also go to https://www.hoffmansettlement.com/ which includes an FAQ section and relevant case documents.

This page will be updated as this case develops.