I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3536

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require an air carrier to request

and receive certain records before allowing an individual to begin service

as a pilot, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 29, 1996

Mr. DUNCAN (for himself, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. LIPINSKI, and

Mr. HEINEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require an air

carrier to request and receive certain records before allowing an individual to begin service as a pilot, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Airline Pilot Hiring

5 and Safety Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. EMPLOYMENT INVESTIGATIONS OF PILOTS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 447 of title 49, United

8 States Code, is amended by redesignating section 44723
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1 as section 44724 and by inserting after section 44722 the

2 following:

3 ‘‘§ 44723. Preemployment review of prospective pilot

4 records

5 ‘‘(a) PILOT RECORDS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before allowing an individ7 ual to begin service as a pilot, an air carrier shall

8 request and receive the following information:

9 ‘‘(A) FAA RECORDS.—From the Adminis10 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration,

11 information pertaining to the individual that is

12 maintained by the Administrator concerning—

13 ‘‘(i) current airman certificates (in14 cluding airman medical certificates) and

15 associated type ratings, including any limi16 tations thereon; and

17 ‘‘(ii) summaries of legal enforcement

18 actions which have resulted in a finding by

19 the Administrator of a violation of this

20 title or a regulation prescribed or order is21 sued under this title and which have not

22 been subsequently overturned.

23 ‘‘(B) AIR CARRIER RECORDS.—From any

24 air carrier (or the trustee in bankruptcy for the

25 air carrier) that has employed the individual at
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1 any time during the 5-year period preceding the

2 date of the employment application of the indi3 vidual—

4 ‘‘(i) records pertaining to the individ5 ual that are maintained by an air carrier

6 (other than records relating to flight time,

7 duty time, or rest time) under regulations

8 set forth in—

9 ‘‘(I) section 121.683 of title 14,

10 Code of Federal Regulations;

11 ‘‘(II) paragraph (A) of section

12 VI, appendix I, part 121 of such title;

13 ‘‘(III) paragraph (A) of section

14 IV, appendix J, part 121 of such title;

15 ‘‘(IV) section 125.401 of such

16 title; and

17 ‘‘(V) section 135.63(a)(4) of such

18 title; and

19 ‘‘(ii) other records pertaining to the

20 individual that are maintained by the air

21 carrier concerning—

22 ‘‘(I) the training, qualifications,

23 proficiency, or professional com24 petence of the individual, including

25 comments and evaluations made by a
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1 check airman designated in accord2 ance with section 121.411, 125.295,

3 or 135.337 of such title;

4 ‘‘(II) any disciplinary action

5 which was taken by the air carrier

6 with respect to the individual and

7 which was not subsequently over8 turned by the air carrier; and

9 ‘‘(III) any release from employ10 ment or resignation, termination, or

11 disqualification with respect to em12 ployment.

13 ‘‘(C) NATIONAL DRIVER REGISTER

14 RECORDS.—From the chief driver licensing offi15 cial of a State, information concerning the

16 motor vehicle driving record of the individual in

17 accordance with section 30305(b)(7) of this

18 title.

19 ‘‘(2) 5-YEAR REPORTING PERIOD.—A person is

20 not required to furnish a record in response to a re21 quest made under paragraph (1) if the record was

22 entered more than 5 years before the date of the re23 quest, unless the information is about a revocation

24 or suspension of an airman certificate or motor vehi-
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1 cle license that is still in effect on the date of the

2 request.

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN RECORDS.—

4 The Administrator and each air carrier (or the

5 trustee in bankruptcy for the air carrier) shall main6 tain pilot records described in paragraph (1) for a

7 period of at least 5 years.

8 ‘‘(4) WRITTEN CONSENT FOR RELEASE.—Nei9 ther the Administrator nor any air carrier may fur10 nish a record in response to a request made under

11 paragraph (1) (A) or (B) without first obtaining the

12 written consent of the individual whose records are

13 being requested.

14 ‘‘(5) DEADLINE FOR PROVISION OF INFORMA15 TION.—A person who receives a request for records

16 under paragraph (1) shall furnish, on or before the

17 30th day following the date of receipt of the request

18 (or on or before the 30th day following the date of

19 obtaining the written consent of the individual in the

20 case of a request under paragraph (1) (A) or (B)),

21 all of the records maintained by the person that

22 have been requested.

23 ‘‘(6) RIGHT TO RECEIVE NOTICE AND COPY OF

24 ANY RECORD FURNISHED.—A person who receives a

25 request for records under paragraph (1) shall pro-
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1 vide to the individual whose records have been re2 quested—

3 ‘‘(A) on or before the 20th day following

4 the date of receipt of the request, written notice

5 of the request and of the individual’s right to

6 receive a copy of such records; and

7 ‘‘(B) in accordance with paragraph (9), a

8 copy of such records, if requested by the indi9 vidual.

10 ‘‘(7) REASONABLE CHARGES FOR PROCESSING

11 REQUESTS AND FURNISHING COPIES.—A person who

12 receives a request for records under paragraph (1)

13 or (9) may establish a reasonable charge for the cost

14 of processing the request and furnishing copies of

15 the requested records.

16 ‘‘(8) RIGHT TO CORRECT INACCURACIES.—An

17 air carrier that receives the records of an individual

18 under paragraph (1)(B) shall provide the individual

19 with a reasonable opportunity to submit written

20 comments to correct any inaccuracies contained in

21 the records before making a final hiring decision

22 with respect to the individual.

23 ‘‘(9) RIGHT OF PILOT TO REVIEW CERTAIN

24 RECORDS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of

25 a law or agreement, an air carrier shall, upon writ-
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1 ten request from a pilot employed by such carrier,

2 make available, within a reasonable time of the re3 quest, to the pilot for review any and all employment

4 records referred to in paragraph (1)(B) pertaining

5 to the pilot’s employment.

6 ‘‘(10) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—An air carrier

7 or employee of an air carrier that receives the

8 records of an individual under paragraph (1) may

9 use such records only to assess the qualifications of

10 the individual in deciding whether or not to hire the

11 individual as a pilot. Subject to subsection (c), the

12 air carrier or employee of an air carrier shall take

13 such actions as may be necessary to protect the pri14 vacy of the pilot and the confidentiality of the

15 records, including ensuring that the information con16 tained in the records is not divulged to any individ17 ual that is not directly involved in the hiring deci18 sion.

19 ‘‘(11) STANDARD FORMS.—The Administrator

20 may promulgate—

21 ‘‘(A) standard forms which may be used by

22 an air carrier to request the records of an indi23 vidual under paragraph (1); and

24 ‘‘(B) standard forms which may be used by

25 a person who receives a request for records
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1 under paragraph (1) to obtain the written con2 sent of the individual and to inform the individ3 ual of the request and of the individual’s right

4 to receive a copy of any records furnished in re5 sponse to the request.

6 ‘‘(12) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator may

7 prescribe such regulations as may be necessary—

8 ‘‘(A) to protect the personal privacy of any

9 individual whose records are requested under

10 paragraph (1) and to protect the confidentiality

11 of those records;

12 ‘‘(B) to limit the further dissemination of

13 records received under paragraph (1) by the air

14 carrier who requested them; and

15 ‘‘(C) to ensure prompt compliance with

16 any request under paragraph (1).

17 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY; PREEMPTION OF

18 STATE AND LOCAL LAW.—

19 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—No action or

20 proceeding may be brought by or on behalf of an in21 dividual who is seeking a position with an air carrier

22 as a pilot against—

23 ‘‘(A) the air carrier for requesting the indi24 vidual’s records under subsection (a)(1);
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1 ‘‘(B) a person who has complied with such

2 request and in the case of a request under sub3 section (a)(1) (A) or (B) has obtained the writ4 ten consent of the individual;

5 ‘‘(C) a person who has entered information

6 contained in the individual’s records; or

7 ‘‘(D) an agent or employee of a person de8 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B);

9 in the nature of an action for defamation, invasion

10 of privacy, negligence, interference with contract, or

11 otherwise, or under any Federal, State, or local law

12 with respect to the furnishing or use of such records

13 in accordance with subsection (a).

14 ‘‘(2) PREEMPTION.—No State or political sub15 division thereof may enact, prescribe, issue, continue

16 in effect, or enforce any law, regulation, standard, or

17 other provision having the force and effect of law

18 that prohibits, penalizes, or imposes liability for fur19 nishing or using records in accordance with sub20 section (a).

21 ‘‘(3) PROVISION OF KNOWINGLY FALSE INFOR22 MATION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply

23 with respect to a person that furnishes in response

24 to a request made under subsection (a)(1) informa25 tion that the person knows is false.
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1 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

2 Nothing in this section shall be construed as precluding

3 the availability of the records of a pilot in an investigation

4 or other proceeding concerning an accident or incident

5 conducted by the Secretary, the National Transportation

6 Safety Board, or a court.’’.

7 (b) CHAPTER ANALYSIS AMENDMENT.—The analysis

8 for chapter 447 of such title is amended by striking

‘‘44723. Annual report.’’

9 and inserting

‘‘44723. Preemployment review of prospective pilot records.

‘‘44724. Annual report.’’.

10 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 30305(b)

11 of such title is amended by redesignating paragraph (7)

12 as paragraph (8) and by inserting after paragraph (6) the

13 following:

14 ‘‘(7) An individual who is employed or seeking em15 ployment by an air carrier as a pilot may request the chief

16 driver licensing official of a State to provide information

17 about the individual under subsection (a) of this section

18 to the individual’s prospective employer or to the Secretary

19 of Transportation. Information may not be obtained from

20 the Register under this paragraph if the information was

21 entered in the Register more than 5 years before the re22 quest, unless the information is about a revocation or sus23 pension still in effect on the date of the request.’’.
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1 (d) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 46301 of such title

2 is amended by inserting ‘‘44723,’’ after ‘‘44716,’’ in each

3 of subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(2)(A), (d)(2), and

4 (f)(1)(A)(i).

5 (e) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this

6 section shall apply to any air carrier hiring an individual

7 as a pilot on or after the 30th day after the date of the

8 enactment of this Act.

9 SEC. 3. RULEMAKING TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM STANDARDS

10 FOR PILOT QUALIFICATIONS.

11 Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact12 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Avia13 tion Administration shall issue a notice of a proposed rule14 making to establish—

15 (1) minimum standards and criteria for

16 preemployment screening tests measuring the bio17 graphical factors (psychomotor coordination), gen18 eral intellectual capacity, instrument and mechanical

19 comprehension, and physical fitness of an applicant

20 for employment as a pilot by an air carrier; and

21 (2) minimum standards and criteria for pilot

22 training facilities which will be licensed by the Ad23 ministrator and which will assure that pilots trained

24 at such facilities meet the preemployment screening

25 standards and criteria described in paragraph (1).
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1 SEC. 4. SHARING ARMED SERVICES RECORDS.

2 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Federal Avia3 tion Administration, in conjunction with the Secretary of

4 Defense, shall conduct a study to determine the relevance

5 and appropriateness of requiring the Secretary of Defense

6 to provide to an air carrier, upon request in connection

7 with the hiring of an individual as a pilot, records of the

8 individual concerning the individual’s training, qualifica9 tions, proficiency, professional competence, or terms of

10 discharge from the Armed Forces.

11 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

12 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

13 transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study.

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