Opinion ID: 795247
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: State-Law Remedies for Violations of Federal Law

Text: 56 In each of his state-law counts, Drake claims that he is entitled to relief under state law for the defendants-appellants' alleged violations of federal regulations. We have already concluded that the remedial provisions of the FAAct, the regulations' enabling statute, do not preempt such claims. See supra, Part III.B. But federal regulations may have preemptive effects that are broader than those of their enabling statutes so long as the preemption does not exceed the agency's delegated authority. See de la Cuesta, 458 U.S. at 154, 102 S.Ct. 3014. The defendants-appellants contend that Drake's claims for state-law remedies are preempted by the FAA drug-testing regulations because they cover[] the subject matter of those regulations. 14 C.F.R Pt. 121, App. I § XI(A). 57 To be sure, any claim that the FAA regulations have been violated necessarily relates to the subject matter of the FAA regulations. But, as we understand Drake's claims, state common law plays no role in determining whether the defendants-appellants have breached the duties established by the federal regulations. The claim, instead, is that if such federal duties have been breached, there are state law causes of action for relief. If that is indeed Drake's claim, the subject matter covered, it seems to us, is not the substantive standards of the federal regulations, but the relief that is available for violations of those standards. But, as noted, the FAA drug-testing regulations are silent about remedies for their violation. Because remedies are not addressed by the FAA regulations, the state law under Drake seeks remedies for violations of the regulations does not cover the subject matter of the regulations of any specific provision of the regulations. 58 This conclusion is consistent with past interpretations of the FAAct and accompanying regulations. Other courts have recognized that, under the FAAct and other federal laws, the federal government's intent to preempt substantive state-law standards does not necessarily imply an intent to preempt state-law remedies for violations of federal standards. See Abdullah, 181 F.3d at 375 (Even though we have found federal preemption of the standards of aviation safety, we still conclude that the traditional state and territorial law remedies continue to exist for violation of those standards.); American Airlines, Inc. v. Wolens, 513 U.S. 219, 232-33, 115 S.Ct. 817, 130 L.Ed.2d 715 (1995) (The [Airline Deregulation Act's] preemption clause, read together with the FAA[ct]'s savings clause, stops States from imposing their own substantive standards with respect to rates, routes, or services, but not from affording relief to a party who claims and proves that an airline dishonored a term the airline itself stipulated.); cf. Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr, 518 U.S. 470, 495, 116 S.Ct. 2240, 135 L.Ed.2d 700 (1996) (concluding that state-law remedies for violations of Food & Drug Administration regulations regarding medical devices were not preempted because they merely provide[d] another reason for manufacturers to comply with identical existing requirements under federal law (internal quotation marks omitted)); Riegel v. Medtronic, 451 F.3d 104, 124 (2d Cir.2006) ([T]ort claims that are premised on a manufacturer's deviation from the standards set forth in the device's [federally] approved [premarket approval] application ... are in no way preempted.). 59 State-law remedies do not in our view, moreover, cover the subject matter of drug testing in a way that would interfere with the operation of the federal regulatory system. The administrative remedies of the FAAct provide only for the FAA to issue an order of compliance, and bring suit to enforce it. They do not provide injured parties with any further redress, such as compensation for attendant harm to a individual who has been wronged by the failure to comply. See 49 U.S.C. § 46101(a)(4); cf. Frank, 314 F.3d at 201 n. 9. And the FAAct does not provide a private right of action for violations of FAA drug-testing regulations. See Drake v. Delta Air Lines, 147 F.3d at 170-71. It is difficult to believe that Congress would, without comment, remove all means of judicial recourse for those injured by illegal conduct. Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U.S. 238, 251, 104 S.Ct. 615, 78 L.Ed.2d 443 (1984); see also Lohr, 518 U.S. at 487, 116 S.Ct. 2240 (plurality opinion) (same). And here, Congress has indeed commented on the matter, stating in the FAAct's saving clause that it does not intend for the Act to leave injured parties without remedy. 49 U.S.C. § 40120(c); 49 U.S.C. Appx. § 1506 (1993). When states provide remedies for violations of FAA regulations, they are in effect responding to the FAAct's express invitation to fill the gaps in its deliberately incomplete remedial scheme. 60 As for the FAA, its purpose in preempting state law covering the subject matter of its drug-testing regulations was to ensure that its drug-testing program could be administered in a consistent and uniform manner. 53 Fed.Reg. at 47048. It is difficult to see how state-law remedies for violation of the FAA regulations would detract from the uniformity of the program or interfere with its effective administration. Cf. Lohr, 518 U.S. at 495, 116 S.Ct. 2240 (state-law remedies merely provide[d] another reason for manufacturers to comply with identical existing requirements under federal law (internal quotation marks omitted)). In sum, we have been given no persuasive reason to conclude that federal law should be interpreted so as to deprive aggrieved employees of legal recourse against persons involved in the commercial enterprise of testing for drugs who would otherwise apparently enjoy immunity from liability despite their alleged failure to comply with federal law. 61