The ATP Flight School lawsuit is a wage and hour case filed in June 2024 by flight instructors who allege the company misclassified them as independent contractors to avoid paying overtime and other wages required under federal and state law. The case, McMinn v. ATP Flight Academy, LLC, drew nearly 200 instructors as a nationwide collective action before a federal judge ordered the claims into individual arbitration in October 2024. Those arbitrations are still in progress as of 2026, and no settlement has been reached.1Getman, Sweeney & Dunn. ATP Flight School Lawsuit
What the Instructors Allege
Named plaintiff Shawn McMinn filed the complaint on June 21, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, against ATP Flight Academy, LLC; ATP USA, Inc.; and ATP Flight Academy of Arizona, LLC.2PACER Monitor. McMinn v ATP Flight Academy, LLC et al The core claim is straightforward: ATP treats its certified flight instructors as independent contractors on paper, but the day-to-day relationship looks like employment.
According to the complaint, ATP mandates uniform and grooming standards, dictates the training program and lesson plans, and controls instructors’ schedules.3Getman, Sweeney & Dunn. Complaint, McMinn v. ATP Flight Academy The plaintiffs argue that level of control is inconsistent with contractor status and that the misclassification let ATP avoid paying time-and-a-half for hours worked beyond 40 per week, as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires.
The lawsuit also alleges instructors went uncompensated for mandatory duties: initial “Indoc” training, monthly group ground training, weekly scheduling meetings, and simulator time beyond student-allotted hours.3Getman, Sweeney & Dunn. Complaint, McMinn v. ATP Flight Academy The instructors are seeking back overtime, an equal amount in liquidated damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs.
On September 4, 2024, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint that added claims under wage payment laws in 26 states and overtime laws in 14 states, along with two additional named plaintiffs, Corey Jackson and Justin Young.4GlobalAir. Flight Instructors Sue ATP Flight School Over Pay
The Retaliation Allegations
Days after the amended complaint landed, the case escalated. On September 9, 2024, ATP terminated at least 13 instructors who had opted into the lawsuit, according to the plaintiffs’ counsel.4GlobalAir. Flight Instructors Sue ATP Flight School Over Pay Four days later, the law firm Getman, Sweeney & Dunn filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, asking the court to order ATP to rescind the terminations, stop placing participating instructors on “flight holds,” halt direct communications with potential class members about the case, and stop conditioning continued employment on withdrawal from the suit.1Getman, Sweeney & Dunn. ATP Flight School Lawsuit
The FLSA prohibits employers from retaliating against workers who participate in lawsuits to recover unpaid overtime. By September 20, 2024, nearly 200 current and former ATP flight instructors had joined the collective action.1Getman, Sweeney & Dunn. ATP Flight School Lawsuit
Why the Case Moved to Arbitration
On October 31, 2024, Judge Thomas P. Barber granted ATP’s motion to compel arbitration, ruling that the company could enforce arbitration agreements the instructors had signed.2PACER Monitor. McMinn v ATP Flight Academy, LLC et al The consequence is significant. Instructors can no longer proceed together as a collective in federal court, and each person’s claims must be pursued in individual arbitration. The judge denied ATP’s motion to dismiss and stayed the federal case while arbitration plays out.
Where Things Stand in 2026
The move into arbitration has been slow. The first batch of individual arbitration demands was filed on May 21, 2025, for instructors who worked in California. A second batch followed on July 3, 2025, covering instructors in Arizona, Indiana, North Carolina, and Washington.1Getman, Sweeney & Dunn. ATP Flight School Lawsuit In the California proceedings, the parties have been working through procedural matters and selecting a panel of three arbitrators.
As of mid-2026, no arbitration has produced a decision, and no settlement has been announced. Getman, Sweeney & Dunn is representing the instructors on contingency, meaning the firm is paid only if instructors recover through settlement or judgment.
Why Classification Matters in Flight Training
Whether flight instructors are properly classified as contractors or employees is a recurring question across the industry, not one unique to ATP. The IRS looks at factors like whether the school dictates the syllabus and instructional materials, forbids the instructor from working with clients outside the school, sets a fixed schedule or set pay, requires attendance at mandatory staff meetings, or provides school-branded business cards.5AOPA. Are Your CFIs Employed as Independent Contractors When a school is found to have misclassified workers, the exposure can include unpaid employment taxes, workers’ compensation premiums, and penalties on top of the unpaid wages.
Other Litigation Involving ATP
A separate wrongful death lawsuit is also active. On September 27, 2023, a Piper Cherokee crashed in Kentucky, killing both occupants. The instructor at the controls was a 22-year-old former ATP flight instructor with roughly 447 total flight hours who had recently joined Eagle Aviation in Owensboro, Kentucky. The NTSB determined the probable cause was the instructor’s decision to continue flying into an area of known thunderstorms, which led to an in-flight breakup of the aircraft.6Fear of Landing. A Group of Pissed Off Hornets – An Instructor’s Snapchat Story of a Fatal Flight ATP had terminated the instructor on August 16, 2023, after a student complained about safety violations, including the deliberate disabling of fuel and engine gauges and cutting the fuel mixture during flight. A wrongful death suit naming both Eagle Aviation and ATP Flight Academy alleges negligent hiring, training, and supervision, and is in progress.
A 2014 sexual harassment lawsuit brought by former student Marie Klein against ATP and several individuals was sent to arbitration in July 2014 and dismissed with prejudice in August 2016 after a private resolution whose terms were not disclosed.7PACER Monitor. Klein v ATP Flight School, LLP et al That matter is closed and unrelated to the wage claims now in arbitration.