Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016

Summary: Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in appointing air traffic controllers, to give preferential consideration to qualified individuals maintaining 52 consecutive weeks of experience involving the active separation of air traffic after receipt of an air traffic certification or facility rating within 5 years of application while serving at an FAA air traffic control facility, a civilian or military air traffic control facility of the Department of Defense, or a tower operating under contract with the FAA. The FAA shall consider additional applicants by referring an approximately equal number of employees for appointment among two applicant pools. The number referred from each group shall not differ by more than 10%. Pool one shall consist of applicants who:   have successfully completed air traffic controller training and graduated from an institution participating in the Collegiate Training Initiative program and have received an appropriate recommendation or endorsement from such institution,   are eligible for a veterans recruitment appointment and provide a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty within 120 days of the announcement closing,  are veterans eligible for veterans' benefits who maintain aviation experience obtained in the course of the individual's military experience, or  are preference eligible veterans.  Pool two shall consist of applicants who apply under a vacancy announcement recruiting from all U.S. citizens. The FAA: (1) may not use a biographical assessment when hiring, (2) must provide an individual who applied in response to a specified 2014 vacancy announcement and was disqualified as the result of a biographical assessment an opportunity to reapply under the revised hiring practices, and (3) must waive any maximum age limit for such reapplying applicants who met such requirement when they applied under such announcement. Otherwise, the maximum age limit for an original appointment as an air traffic controller under this bill shall be 35 years of age. The FAA shall consider directly notifying secondary schools and institutes of higher learning of a vacancy announcement for pool one applicants.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Air Traffic Controller Hiring 
Improvement Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. HIRING OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 44506 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Hiring of Certain Air Traffic Control Specialists.--
            ``(1) Consideration of applicants.--
                    ``(A) Ensuring selection of most qualified 
                applicants.--In appointing individuals to the position 
                of air traffic controllers, the Administrator shall 
                give preferential consideration to qualified 
                individuals maintaining 52 consecutive weeks of air 
                traffic control experience involving the active 
                separation of air traffic after receipt of an air 
                traffic certification or air traffic control facility 
                rating within 5 years of application while serving at--
                            ``(i) a Federal Aviation Administration air 
                        traffic control facility;
                            ``(ii) a civilian or military air traffic 
                        control facility of the Department of Defense; 
                        or
                            ``(iii) a tower operating under contract 
                        with the Federal Aviation Administration under 
                        section 47124.
                    ``(B) Consideration of additional applicants.--The 
                Administrator shall consider additional applicants for 
                the position of air traffic controller by referring an 
                approximately equal number of employees for appointment 
                among 2 applicant pools. The number of employees 
                referred for consideration from each group shall not 
                differ by more than 10 percent.
                            ``(i) Pool one.--Pool one shall consist of 
                        applicants who--
                                    ``(I) have successfully completed 
                                air traffic controller training and 
                                graduated from an institution 
                                participating in the Collegiate 
                                Training Initiative program maintained 
                                under subsection (c)(1) who have 
                                received from the institution--
                                            ``(aa) an appropriate 
                                        recommendation; or
                                            ``(bb) an endorsement 
                                        certifying that the applicant 
                                        would have met the requirements 
                                        in effect as of December 31, 
                                        2013, for an appropriate 
                                        recommendation;
                                    ``(II) are eligible for a veterans 
                                recruitment appointment pursuant to 
                                section 4214 of title 38 and provide a 
                                Certificate of Release or Discharge 
                                from Active Duty within 120 days of the 
                                announcement closing;
                                    ``(III) are eligible veterans under 
                                section 4211 of title 38 maintaining 
                                aviation experience obtained in the 
                                course of the individual's military 
                                experience; or
                                    ``(IV) are preference eligible 
                                veterans pursuant to section 2108 of 
                                title 5.
                            ``(ii) Pool two.--Pool two shall consist of 
                        applicants who apply under a vacancy 
                        announcement recruiting from all United States 
                        citizens.
            ``(2) Use of biographical assessments.--
                    ``(A) Biographical assessments.--The Administration 
                may not use any biographical assessment when hiring 
                under subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B)(i) of 
                paragraph (1).
                    ``(B) Reconsideration of applicants disqualified on 
                the basis of biographical assessments.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If an individual 
                        described in subparagraph (A) or subparagraph 
                        (B)(i) of paragraph (1) who applied for the 
                        position of air traffic controller with the 
                        Administration in response to Vacancy 
                        Announcement FAA-AMC-14-ALLSRCE-33537 (issued 
                        on February 10, 2014) and was disqualified from 
                        the position as the result of a biographical 
                        assessment, the Administrator shall provide the 
                        applicant an opportunity to reapply as soon as 
                        practicable for the position under the revised 
                        hiring practices.
                            ``(ii) Waiver of age restriction.--The 
                        Administrator shall waive any maximum age 
                        restriction for the position of air traffic 
                        controller with the Administration that would 
                        otherwise disqualify an individual from the 
                        position if the individual--
                                    ``(I) is reapplying for the 
                                position pursuant to clause (i) on or 
                                before December 31, 2017; and
                                    ``(II) met the maximum age 
                                requirement on the date of the 
                                individual's previous application for 
                                the position during the interim hiring 
                                process.
            ``(3) Maximum entry age for experienced controllers.--
        Notwithstanding section 3307 of title 5, the maximum limit of 
        age for an original appointment to a position as an air traffic 
        controller shall be 35 years of age for those maintaining 52 
        weeks of air traffic control experience involving the active 
        separation of air traffic after receipt of an air traffic 
        certification or air traffic control facility rating in a 
        civilian or military air traffic control facility.''.
    (b) Notification of Vacancies.--The Administrator of the Federal 
Aviation Administration shall consider directly notifying secondary 
schools and institutes of higher learning, including Historically Black 
Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Minority 
Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities, of the vacancy 
announcement under section 44506(f)(1)(B)(ii) of title 49, United 
States Code.