Order 2013

- 8

- 16

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation

O n the Twenty

- Third day of August , 2013

Kyla Thorington et al.

Complainants

v. DOT OST 2013

- 0092

United Airlines , Inc

. , and Served August 23, 2013 PrimeFlight Airline Services

Respondents

ORDER TERMINATING PROCEEDINGS

This order concerns alleged violations by United Airlines , Inc., ( United ) and PrimeFlight Airline Services ( PrimeFlight ) of the Air Carrier Access Act, 49 U.S.C. § 41705

, (ACAA) and the regulations found at 14 CFR Part 382. By this order, the Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement Office) declines to institute a formal enforcement proceeding and thereby dismisses the instant ca se.

On May 2 , 2013, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) filed a formal complaint on behalf of Kyla Thorington, Henry Carter, John Stewart, and Shante Smith [collectively Complainants ] with the Assistant General Counsel for Aviation

Enforcemen t and Proceedings

, pursuant to 14 CFR 302.404, alleg ing violations of the ACAA and Part 382. Complainants alleged that United and PrimeFlight [hereinafter Respondents] (1) failed to provide Complainant Kyla Thorington with training to proficiency concerni ng the requirements of Part 382, other applicable regulations, and

United ’ s procedures, as required by 14 CFR 382.141(a)(1)(i)

- (ii); (2) failed to provide all Complainants with training to proficiency concerning the use of boarding

- and deplaning

assistance equipment and appropriate boarding

- and deplaning

- assistance procedures, as required by 14 CFR 382.141(a)(1)(iii); (3) failed to provide all Complainants with2

training in recognizing requests for communication accommodations from individuals

wit h hearing or vision impairments, as required by 14 CFR 382.141(a)(3); and ( 4 ) failed to provide equipment in sound working condition, as required by 14 CFR 382.51(b)(2).

On June 7 , 2013, Respondents filed a joint answer in response to the formal complaint pursuant to 14 CFR 302.405. Respondents stated that Complainants received the required training in accordance with Part 382, which included boarding

- and deplaning

assi stance equipment and procedures and communicati on with individuals with visual

and hea ring impairments. As documentary evidence of the training, Respondents submitted training logs and verifications signed by each Complainant. Furthermore, according to Respondents, United has contracted with Aviation Mobility LLC (Aviation Mobility) to pr ovide and maintain the whee lchairs and other equipment used to provide assistance to passengers, and United has no reason to believe that Aviation Mobility is not fulfilling its duties. Respondents requested that the Department dismiss the Complaint with prejudice.

The Enforcement Office has thoroughly considered the pleadings and supporting documents on file in this proceeding. 1 It takes allegations that an airline has failed to train its employees in accordance with Part 382 very seriously. The allegations regarding the insufficiency of training received by Complainants, however, are not suppor ted by the

evidence. The Complaint is misleading and meritless. The Enforcement Office has

, therefore

, determined that any further investigation into the Complainants’ allegations is unjustified and un necessary. Moreover, the Enforcement Office is placing SEIU on notice that if, in the future, SEIU files an unsubstantiated complaint that contains misleading statements or otherwise exhibits unprofessional conduct , the Enforcement

Office will pursue action to bar the SEIU from practicing before the De partment under 14

CFR 300.20

. 2

ACCORDINGLY, I decline to institute a formal enforcement proceeding in this case.

1 The Enforcement Office notes that the Complainants filed a Notice of Voluntary Discontinuance that is procedurally deficient for its intended purpose. Therefore, the office will not consider that document as a responsive pleading properly filed in this matter

.

2 SEIU filed si milar complaints on behalf of complainants in June 2007 and February 2008, docket

numbers OST

- 2008

- 0082 and OST

- 2008

- 0081, which were dismissed by the Enforcement Office for procedural deficiencies. In addition, SEIU improperly submitted a complaint in Au gust 2009 but never formally filed it, even after the Enforcement Office sent a letter to the c omplainants explaining the

deficiencies.3

This order is issued under the authority assigned in 14 CFR 302.406(a)(2) and shall be effective as the final action of the Departm ent within 30 days after service. Copies wi ll

be served on all parties

.

BY:

S AMUEL PODBERESKY

Assistant General Counsel for

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings4

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that I have this date served the foregoing document on the following persons in accordance with the Department’s Rules of Practice

.

Omar V. Guerrero Senior Trial Attorney

Dated: August 23 , 2013

Counsel for United Airlines , Inc. Lorraine B. Halloway, Esq., lhalloway@crowell.com

Gerald F. Murphy, Esq., gmurphy@crowell.com Crowell & Moring LLP 1001 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20004

Counsel for PrimeFlight Airline Services Mark W. Atwood, Esq., matwood@cozen.com Elizabeth J. Wadsworth, Esq., ewadsworth@cozen.com

Cozen O’Connor

1627 I St NW Washington, DC 20006

Representative of Kyla Thorington et al. Conor Hanlon, conor.hanlon@seiu.org Service Employees International Union

42 S 15th St Ste 200 Philadelphia, PA 19102

An electronic version of the document is available at www.regu lations.gov. Dockets and Media Management Division (SVC

- 124) U.S. Department of Transportation Washington, DC 20590