Are whistleblowers in the airline industry protected from retaliation?
The Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21) is a federal law that protects employees who expose air carrier safety violations. What activities are protected? An employee engages in protected activity by: • Providing specific information to the employer or the federal government relating to any violation or alleged violation of any order, regulation of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or any other federal law relating to air carrier safety; • Filing a proceeding relating to a violation or alleged violation of air carrier safety rules; • Testifying in a proceeding related to an air carrier safety violation; or • Assisting or participating in a proceeding related to an air carrier safety violation. Specific examples of protected activity include: • Alerting the FAA that an aircraft was being flown past its maintenance threshold; • Reporting to a supervisor that aircraft parts in warehouse bins did not contain the FAA required serviceable t
