AIR21 Whistleblower Questions and Answers

What is the AIR21 Whistleblower Protection Program?

AIR21 is codified in 49 U.S.C. § 42121 and provides a process to allow air carrier industry employees to challenge being discharged or otherwise being discriminated against for providing information related to air carrier safety to their employer or the federal government.

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Who is an Air Carrier Industry employee?

Air Carrier Industry employees include all employees of United States certificated air carriers, contractors, and subcontractors of United States air carriers and manufacturers.

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What are some examples of "discrimination?"

Discrimination can occur in many forms. The most common are: retaliation, threats, reprisals, reprimands, intimidation, suspension and/or discharge. Intimidation is defined as a specific and imminent threat to take some adverse action for failure to comply with an unsafe company direction.

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Information must relate to a violation of any FAA Order, regulation, or standard. Examples of an FAA standard might include: approved exemptions, deviations or waivers; accepted or approved manuals; capabilities list; approved training program.

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What is an "Air Carrier Contractor?"

An Air Carrier Contractor is a company that performs safety sensitive functions by contract for an air carrier. Examples may include repair stations and manufacturers.

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What is an "Air Carrier Subcontractor?"

An Air Carrier Subcontractor is a company that performs safety sensitive functions by contract to a contractor of an air carrier. Examples may include parts and service providers.

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Who enforces the AIR21 law?

The FAA Administrator and the Secretary of Labor (DOL) have joint and independent responsibilities for the enforcement of the Whistleblower Protection Program.

The FAA is responsible for investigating and enforcing the air carrier safety aspects of a complaint.

The DOL is responsible for investigating and enforcing the discrimination aspects of a complaint.

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I am an employee of an air carrier. If I know my employer is compromising air carrier safety in some way and I blow the whistle on them, can they discriminate against me?

An air carrier, or contractor or subcontractor of an air carrier, may not discharge you or in any other way discriminate against you, an employee, because you did or are about to do one of the following eight actions:

  1. Provided to the federal government or to your employer information relating to any violation of any order, regulation, or standard of FAA or any other provision of federal law relating to air carrier safety;
  2. Caused to be provided to the federal government or your employer information relating to any violation of any order, regulation, or standard of FAA or any other provision of federal law relating to air carrier safety;
  3. Are about to provide to the federal government or your employer information relating to any violation of any order, regulation, or standard of FAA or any other provision of federal law relating to air carrier safety;
  4. Filed a proceeding relating to any violation of any order, regulation, or standard of FAA or any other provision of federal law relating to air carrier safety;
  5. Caused to be filed a proceeding relating to any violation of any order, regulation, or standard of FAA or any other provision of federal law relating to air carrier safety;
  6. Are about to file or cause to be filed a proceeding relating to any violation of any order, regulation, or standard of FAA or any other provision of federal law relating to air carrier safety;
  7. Testified or are about to testify in a proceeding relating to any violation of any order, regulation, or standard of FAA or any other provision of federal law relating to air carrier safety; or
  8. Assisted or participated in, or are about to assist or participate in, a proceeding relating to any violation of any order, regulation, or standard of FAA or any other provision of federal law relating to air carrier safety.

Be aware that your protection under AIR21 occurs only after the fact of discrimination. Submitting a complaint to OSHA or FAA does not provide you with any special status that your company must honor. They must honor the law. If they do discriminate against you, then you must submit your complaint to OSHA for their determination if you were discriminated against because of your actions in any of the above eight categories.

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Do I need a lawyer to assist in filing a Whistleblower Protection Program complaint?

You can obtain legal counsel at any time to assist you in understanding the process and your rights under the Whistleblower Protection Program (AIR21). The systems for both OSHA and FAA are designed so that you do not require legal counsel to file a complaint.

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What should I do if I know of a violation?

You should immediately report it to the nearest FAA Flight Standards District Office, Certificate Management Section (if related to manufacturing issues) or to the FAA Hotline.

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What should I do if I am discharged or otherwise discriminated against for reporting a violation?

Within 90 days after learning of the discrimination, you (or another person at your request) may file a complaint with the United States Department of Labor. The Secretary of Labor has delegated the authority to receive discrimination complaints to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Filing your complaint with any federal OSHA officer or employee is sufficient, according to 29 CFR 1978.102 Filing of discrimination complaint. Tell them that you are filing an AIR21 Whistleblower complaint. You can find links to how to file a complaint at: whistleblowers.gov.

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What should I do if I learned of my discharge or discrimination more than 90 days ago?

You may still file your complaint with OSHA, but OSHA may decline your complaint as untimely.

You can still submit an air carrier safety issue to FAA beyond the 90 days, but there are a variety of timeliness issues for FAA to address in enforcing an air carrier safety violation.

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Last updated: Thursday, August 10, 2023