The FAA Is Being Sued For Throwing Out Air Traffic Controller Applications Based On Applicants' Race

The class action lawsuit represents over 1,000 people.

BY TREVIN CHRISTIAN CASINADER PUBLISHED 2 DAYS AGO



SUMMARY

Lawsuit uncovered FAA discrimination in hiring, rejecting over 1,000 qualified air traffic controller applicants based on race.

Obama-era FAA implemented biographical test favoring diversity over skills, ignored highly qualified candidates from CTI program.

Minority candidates given unfair advantage through "buzz words" and irrelevant questions, while qualified CTI graduates were passed over.



A class-action lawsuit by the Mountain States Legal Foundation has found a substantial amount of documents showing discriminatory hiring practices by the Obama-era Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initiative, which rejected qualified air traffic controllers based solely on race.

The lawsuit is led by Adam Laxalt, the Former Nevada Attorney General and co-counsel at Mountain States Legal Foundation. If it succeeds, it could set a new precedent and force companies and government agencies to hire employees based on skills, eliminating diversity quotas.


Who was wronged?

The lawsuit alleges that the FAA turned away more than 1,000 qualified air traffic controller applicants. These applicants passed the normal tests before the Obama-era FAA threw out the test results and the applicants with it.



The applicants were part of the Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI), which started in 1997. The FAA worked with colleges and universities to offer air traffic control degrees, and as a result, these graduates became the main source for hiring controllers. The program's candidates were highly qualified. They have already graduated from a 200-hour training program and achieved high scores on the AT-SAT.

Before the Obama-era FAA, a high rate of graduating students were hired as controllers. However, changes in the hiring process saw these CTI graduates being passed over for jobs over high school graduates.


How were they discriminated against?

The FAA was under pressure to diversify the overwhelmingly white workforce and began screening applicants using a biographical test. Only after passing this test were they tested on competency.



The lawsuit doesn’t allege incompetent controllers were hired instead of CTI graduates. Instead, it states that the CTI graduates weren’t given the opportunity to demonstrate their competency.

Laxalt spoke to Fox Business about the impact that decision has had on the people represented by the lawsuit:

"That’s the group of citizens we represent. Their careers were derailed. Their lives were upended. So, it’s important we get justice for them, but obviously, it’s important that cases like this highlight that these practices were going on in the federal government, and they can still be going on in any agency in America."

In addition, minority candidates were given “buzz words,” which brought their resumes to the top of the pile. These groups were also given the answers to the biographical questionnaire, which was later banned.

The questionnaire asked several irrelevant questions. According to the Washington Times, one of the questions was “college subject in which I received my lowest grade.” Those who wrote “history/political science” received 15 points. In addition, playing more than four sports in high school netted applicants 5 points.

In contrast, criteria that would disadvantage African Americans, such as holding a pilot's license, were worth only two points. An air traffic controller with a pilot's license understands what happens on the other end of the radio, which is a major advantage. Even more blatant is the omission of any points for actual experience as an air traffic controller in the military.

Simple Flying has contacted the FAA for a comment on the lawsuit and is awaiting a reply.