Law360: 7th Circ. Says Row Over Pilot Contracts Belongs In Arbitration

The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ Railway Labor Act suit against Republic Airways Inc. and Hyannis Air Service Inc. The ruling “addresses and permits (subject to arbitration) something many air carriers have been trying to use — individual pre-hire agreements with union pilots designed to incentivize hiring, retention, and upgrades by providing pre-hire bonuses and pilot obligations to re-pay if the pilots leave prior to working a set period of time,” O’Melveny & Myers LLP partner Robert Siegel said. “Many carriers want to do something like this.” The airlines are represented by Siegel, Aparna B. Joshi, and Ellie Hylton of O’Melveny & Myers LLP.

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