104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3536

AN ACT

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require

service as a pilot, and for other purposes.records before allowing an individual to beginan air carrier to request and receive certain
104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3536

AN ACT

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

3 and Safety Act of 1996’’.

4 SEC. 2. EMPLOYMENT INVESTIGATIONS OF PILOTS.

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

6 States Code, is amended by redesignating section 44723

7 as section 44724 and by inserting after section 44722 the

8 following:

9 ‘‘§ 44723. Preemployment review of prospective pilot

10 records

11 ‘‘(a) PILOT RECORDS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before allowing an individ13 ual to begin service as a pilot, an air carrier shall

14 request and receive the following information:

15 ‘‘(A) FAA RECORDS.—From the Adminis16 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration,

17 information pertaining to the individual that is

18 maintained by the Administrator concerning—

19 ‘‘(i) current airman certificates (in20 cluding airman medical certificates) and

21 associated type ratings, including any limi22 tations thereon; and

23 ‘‘(ii) summaries of legal enforcement

24 actions which have resulted in a finding by

25 the Administrator of a violation of this

26 title or a regulation prescribed or order is-
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1 sued under this title and which have not

2 been subsequently overturned.

3 ‘‘(B) AIR CARRIER RECORDS.—From any

4 air carrier (or the trustee in bankruptcy for the

5 air carrier) that has employed the individual at

6 any time during the 5-year period preceding the

7 date of the employment application of the indi8 vidual—

9 ‘‘(i) records pertaining to the individ10 ual that are maintained by an air carrier

11 (other than records relating to flight time,

12 duty time, or rest time) under regulations

13 set forth in—

14 ‘‘(I) section 121.683 of title 14,

15 Code of Federal Regulations;

16 ‘‘(II) paragraph (A) of section

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

18 ‘‘(III) paragraph (A) of section

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

20 ‘‘(IV) section 125.401 of such

21 title; and

22 ‘‘(V) section 135.63(a)(4) of such

23 title; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) other records pertaining to the

2 individual that are maintained by the air

3 carrier concerning—

4 ‘‘(I) the training, qualifications,

5 proficiency, or professional com6 petence of the individual, including

7 comments and evaluations made by a

8 check airman designated in accord9 ance with section 121.411, 125.295,

10 or 135.337 of such title;

11 ‘‘(II) any disciplinary action re12 lating to the training, qualifications,

13 proficiency, or professional com14 petence of the individual which was

15 taken by the air carrier with respect

16 to the individual and which was not

17 subsequently overturned by the air

18 carrier; and

19 ‘‘(III) any release from employ20 ment or resignation, termination, or

21 disqualification with respect to em22 ployment.

23 ‘‘(C) NATIONAL DRIVER REGISTER

24 RECORDS.—From the chief driver licensing offi25 cial of a State, information concerning the
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1 motor vehicle driving record of the individual in

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

3 title.

4 ‘‘(2) 5-YEAR REPORTING PERIOD.—A person is

5 not required to furnish a record in response to a re6 quest made under paragraph (1) if the record was

7 entered more than 5 years before the date of the re8 quest, unless the information is about a revocation

9 or suspension of an airman certificate or motor vehi10 cle license that is still in effect on the date of the

11 request.

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

13 The Administrator and each air carrier (or the

14 trustee in bankruptcy for the air carrier) shall main15 tain pilot records described in paragraph (1) for a

16 period of at least 5 years.

17 ‘‘(4) WRITTEN CONSENT FOR RELEASE.—Nei18 ther the Administrator nor any air carrier may fur19 nish a record in response to a request made under

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

21 written consent of the individual whose records are

22 being requested.

23 ‘‘(5) DEADLINE FOR PROVISION OF INFORMA24 TION.—A person who receives a request for records

25 under paragraph (1) shall furnish, on or before the
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1 30th day following the date of receipt of the request

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

3 obtaining the written consent of the individual in the

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

5 all of the records maintained by the person that

6 have been requested.

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

8 ANY RECORD FURNISHED.—A person who receives a

9 request for records under paragraph (1) shall pro10 vide to the individual whose records have been re11 quested—

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

13 the date of receipt of the request, written notice

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

15 receive a copy of such records; and

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

17 copy of such records, if requested by the indi18 vidual.

19 ‘‘(7) REASONABLE CHARGES FOR PROCESSING

20 REQUESTS AND FURNISHING COPIES.—A person who

21 receives a request for records under paragraph (1)

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

23 of processing the request and furnishing copies of

24 the requested records.
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1 ‘‘(8) RIGHT TO CORRECT INACCURACIES.—An

2 air carrier that receives the records of an individual

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

4 with a reasonable opportunity to submit written

5 comments to correct any inaccuracies contained in

6 the records before making a final hiring decision

7 with respect to the individual.

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

9 RECORDS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of

10 a law or agreement, an air carrier shall, upon writ11 ten request from a pilot employed by such carrier,

12 make available, within a reasonable time of the re13 quest, to the pilot for review any and all employment

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

15 to the pilot’s employment.

16 ‘‘(10) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—

17 ‘‘(A) USE OF RECORDS.—An air carrier or

18 employee of an air carrier that receives the

19 records of an individual under paragraph (1)

20 may use such records only to assess the quali21 fications of the individual in deciding whether

22 or not to hire the individual as a pilot.

23 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED ACTIONS.—Subject to

24 subsection (c), the air carrier or employee of an

25 air carrier shall take such actions as may be
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1 necessary to protect the privacy of the pilot and

2 the confidentiality of the records, including en3 suring that the information contained in the

4 records is not divulged to any individual that is

5 not directly involved in the hiring decision.

6 ‘‘(C) INDIVIDUALS NOT HIRED.—If the in7 dividual is not hired, the air carrier shall de8 stroy or return the records of the individual re9 ceived under paragraph (1); except that the air

10 carrier may retain any records needed to defend

11 its decisions not to hire the individual.

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

13 may promulgate—

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

15 an air carrier to request the records of an indi16 vidual under paragraph (1); and

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

18 a person who receives a request for records

19 under paragraph (1) to obtain the written con20 sent of the individual and to inform the individ21 ual of the request and of the individual’s right

22 to receive a copy of any records furnished in re23 sponse to the request.

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

25 prescribe such regulations as may be necessary—
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1 ‘‘(A) to protect the personal privacy of any

2 individual whose records are requested under

3 paragraph (1) and to protect the confidentiality

4 of those records;

5 ‘‘(B) to preclude the further dissemination

6 of records received under paragraph (1) by the

7 air carrier who requested them; and

8 ‘‘(C) to ensure prompt compliance with

9 any request under paragraph (1).

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

11 STATE AND LOCAL LAW.—

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

13 proceeding may be brought by or on behalf of an in14 dividual who is seeking a position with an air carrier

15 as a pilot against—

16 ‘‘(A) the air carrier for requesting the indi17 vidual’s records under subsection (a)(1);

18 ‘‘(B) a person who has complied with such

19 request and in the case of a request under sub20 section (a)(1) (A) or (B) has obtained the writ21 ten consent of the individual;

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

23 contained in the individual’s records; or

24 ‘‘(D) an agent or employee of a person de25 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B);
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1 in the nature of an action for defamation, invasion

2 of privacy, negligence, interference with contract, or

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

4 with respect to the furnishing or use of such records

5 in accordance with subsection (a).

6 ‘‘(2) PREEMPTION.—No State or political sub7 division thereof may enact, prescribe, issue, continue

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

9 other provision having the force and effect of law

10 that prohibits, penalizes, or imposes liability for fur11 nishing or using records in accordance with sub12 section (a).

13 ‘‘(3) PROVISION OF KNOWINGLY FALSE INFOR14 MATION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply

15 with respect to a person that furnishes in response

16 to a request made under subsection (a)(1) informa17 tion that the person knows is false.

18 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

19 Nothing in this section shall be construed as precluding

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

21 or other proceeding concerning an accident or incident

22 conducted by the Secretary, the National Transportation

23 Safety Board, or a court.’’.

24 (b) CHAPTER ANALYSIS AMENDMENT.—The analysis

25 for chapter 447 of such title is amended by striking

‘‘44723. Annual report.’’
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1 and inserting

‘‘44723. Preemployment review of prospective pilot records.

‘‘44724. Annual report.’’.

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

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

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

5 following:

6 ‘‘(7) An individual who is employed or seeking em7 ployment by an air carrier as a pilot may request the chief

8 driver licensing official of a State to provide information

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

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

11 of Transportation. Information may not be obtained from

12 the Register under this paragraph if the information was

13 entered in the Register more than 5 years before the re14 quest, unless the information is about a revocation or sus15 pension still in effect on the date of the request.’’.

16 (d) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 46301 of such title

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

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

19 (f)(1)(A)(i).

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

21 section shall apply to any air carrier hiring an individual

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

23 enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 3. RULEMAKING TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM STANDARDS

2 FOR PILOT QUALIFICATIONS.

3 Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Avia5 tion Administration shall issue a notice of a proposed rule6 making to establish—

7 (1) minimum standards and criteria for

8 preemployment screening tests measuring the bio9 graphical factors (psychomotor coordination), gen10 eral intellectual capacity, instrument and mechanical

11 comprehension, and physical fitness of an applicant

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

13 (2) minimum standards and criteria for pilot

14 training facilities which will be licensed by the Ad15 ministrator and which will assure that pilots trained

16 at such facilities meet the preemployment screening

17 standards and criteria described in paragraph (1).

18 SEC. 4. SHARING ARMED SERVICES RECORDS.

19 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Federal Avia20 tion Administration, in conjunction with the Secretary of

21 Defense, shall conduct a study to determine the relevance

22 and appropriateness of requiring the Secretary of Defense

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

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

25 individual concerning the individual’s training, qualifica-
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1 tions, proficiency, professional competence, or terms of

2 discharge from the Armed Forces.

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

4 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

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

6 SEC. 5. MINIMUM FLIGHT TIME.

7 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Federal Avia8 tion Administration shall conduct a study to determine

9 whether current minimum flight time requirements appli10 cable to individuals seeking employment as a pilot with

11 an air carrier are sufficient to ensure public safety.

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

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

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

Passed the House of Representatives July 22, 1996.

Attest:

Clerk.