Originally Posted by
FlyerJosh
The military discharge thing is not prohibited, but generally seen as taboo during hiring. State and Federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws do not prohibit you from asking about the type of discharge. However, asking a veteran to reveal the nature (“characterization of service” in military parlance) of their discharge is considered private information, similar to asking someone “what kind of a disability do you have?” I have seen the question "have you ever received a discharge from the military that was other than honorable?"
Yes, not illegal but might be risky to ask for a typical employer. Any reservations the airlines might have are overcome by the security issues...an non-honorable discharge is almost certainly associated with UCMJ conviction(s), which are relevant to the background check.
Airlines are pretty aggressive about pushing the boundaries of employment law WRT security issues...they would much rather defend the occasional nuisance lawsuit than hire a pilot with a criminal past. Juries have historically been pretty tolerant of airlines as soon as they play the "public safety" card in court.