Whistleblower Protection for Employees 

in the Aviation Industry

Certain aviation industry employers are prohibited from retaliating against 

employees for reporting alleged violations of federal laws related to aviation safety 

or engaging in other protected activities.

The Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment 

and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR21), 

49 U.S.C. § 42121, provides retaliation protections 

for employees of air carriers, certain aircraft 

manufacturers and designers, and employees of 

their contractors, subcontractors, or suppliers.

Covered Employees

Under AIR21, employees of the following types 

of employers are protected from retaliation for 

engaging in certain protected activities related to 

aviation safety:

• Air carriers (holders of an air carrier operating 

certificate under 49 U.S.C. § 44705)

• Aircraft manufacturers and designers 

(holders of type, supplemental type, 

production, or airworthiness certificates 

under 49 U.S.C. § 44704)

• Such entities’ contractors performing 

functions related to aviation safety, 

subcontractors, and suppliers

Protected Activity

If your employer is covered under AIR21, it may 

not discharge or in any other manner retaliate 

against you because you provided information 

to, are about to provide information to, or 

caused information to be provided to your 

employer or the Federal government relating to 

any violation or alleged violation of any order, 

regulation, or standard of the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) or any other provision of 

Federal law relating aviation safety. 

Your employer may not discharge or in any 

manner retaliate against you because you filed, 

caused to be filed, testified in, participated in, 

or assisted in a proceeding under one of these 

categories of law. 

Also, your employer may not discharge or in 

any other manner retaliate against you for 

refusing to perform work assignments that you 

reasonably believe would cause you to violate 

any order, regulation, or standard of the FAA or 

any other provision of Federal law relating to 

aviation safety. 

What Is Retaliation?

Retaliation is an adverse action against an 

employee because of activity protected by 

AIR21. Retaliation can include several types of 

actions, such as:

• Firing or laying off 

• Demoting

• Denying overtime or promotion

• Disciplining

• Denying benefits

• Failure to hire or rehire

• Intimidation or harassment

• Making threats

• Reassignment to a less desirable position or 

actions affecting promotion prospects

• Reducing pay or hours

• More subtle actions, such as isolating, 

ostracizing, mocking, or falsely accusing the 

employee of poor performance 

• Blacklisting (intentionally interfering with 

an employee’s ability to obtain future 

employment) 

• Constructive discharge (quitting when an 

employer makes working conditions intolerable 

due to the employee’s protected activity) 

• Reporting the employee to the police or 

immigration authorities

Deadline for Filing Complaints

Complaints must be filed within 90 days after the 

employee learns of the alleged adverse action.

FactSheet
How to File an AIR21 Complaint

An employee, or an employee’s representative, 

can file an AIR21 complaint with OSHA by 

visiting or calling the local OSHA office, sending 

a written complaint to the closest OSHA office, 

or filing a complaint online. No particular form 

is required and complaints may be submitted in 

any language.

Written complaints may be filed by fax, 

electronic communication, hand delivery 

during business hours, U.S. mail (confirmation 

services recommended), or other third-party 

commercial carrier.

The date of the postmark, fax, electronic 

communication, telephone call, hand delivery, 

delivery to a third-party commercial carrier, or 

in-person filing at an OSHA office is considered 

the date filed. 

To file a complaint electronically, please 

visit www.osha.gov/whistleblower/

WBComplaint.

To contact an OSHA area office, please call 

1-800-321-OSHA (6742) to be connected to 

the closest area office. Or visit our website at 

www.osha.gov/contactus/bystate and click 

on your state to find your local OSHA office 

address and contact information. 

When OSHA receives a complaint, the agency 

will first review it to determine whether certain 

basic requirements are met, such as whether 

the complaint was filed on time. If so, the 

complaint will then be investigated according to 

the procedures required by 29 CFR Part 1979.

Results of the Investigation

If the evidence supports an employee’s complaint 

of retaliation and a settlement cannot be reached, 

OSHA will issue an order requiring the employer 

to, as appropriate, put the employee back to work, 

pay lost wages, restore benefits, and provide 

other possible relief. The exact requirements will 

depend on the facts of the case. If the evidence 

does not support the employee’s complaint, 

OSHA will dismiss the complaint.

After OSHA issues a decision, the employer and/

or the employee may request a full hearing before 

an administrative law judge of the Department of 

Labor. The administrative law judge’s decision may 

be appealed to the Department’s Administrative 

Review Board (ARB). The ARB’s decision is subject 

to review by the Secretary of Labor, and a final 

decision may be appealed to a court of appeals.

To Get Further Information

For a copy of the AIR21 whistleblower 

provision, 49 U.S.C. § 42121, the regulations 

(29 CFR Part 1979), and other information, go 

to www.whistleblowers.gov.

OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Programs 

enforce the whistleblower provisions of more 

than twenty federal whistleblower laws. To 

learn more about the whistleblower statutes 

that OSHA enforces, view our “Whistleblower 

Statutes Desk Aid” at www.whistleblowers.gov/

whistleblower_acts-desk_reference.pdf.

For information on the Office of Administrative 

Law Judges procedures and case law research 

materials, go to www.dol.gov/agencies/

oalj/topics/information/Information_for_

Whistleblowers.

To obtain more information about Federal laws 

relating to air carrier safety and FAA regulations 

and standards, please visit the FAA website at 

www.faa.gov.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health 

Act of 1970, employers are responsible for 

providing safe and healthful workplaces for 

their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these 

conditions for America’s workers by setting and 

enforcing standards, and providing training, 

education, and assistance. For more information, 

visit www.osha.gov.

DWPP FS-3670 02/2023

This is one in a series of informational fact sheets highlighting OSHA programs, policies or standards. 

It does not impose any new compliance requirements. For a comprehensive list of compliance 

requirements of OSHA standards or regulations, refer to Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 

This information will be made available to sensory-impaired individuals upon request. The voice 

phone is (202) 693-1999; teletypewriter (TTY) number: 1-877-889-5627.