Originally Posted by
rickair7777
Used to be they could ask about anything they wanted, and they did. The majors also gave you an astronaut physical.
Today it's a little complicated since state laws can vary but *in general* airlines have evolved their practice to one or two approaches, both of which seem to be legal...
1. Look at, and photocopy, your FAA 1C.
2. Have a staff (or contract) AME administer an FAA 1C exam to verify that you meet the standards. They're entitled to do this since FAA exams are conducted not by the FAA itself but by third party designees (AMEs) so they have no guarantee of consistency on the application of the standards.
What you're describing might be associated with #2?
The employer in question apparently thinks it's legal to ask. If it's a big airline, they almost certainly know what they're doing. If it's smaller shop, maybe they're coloring outside the lines?
You'd probably need an aviation attorney, with experience in that state, to give you a reliable answer.
Thank you, Rick.
It seems like this doesn't apply to either one of the scenarios you mentioned. I'm fully aware of #1 (which is the norm) and they never stated that they would do an exam on applicants. It seems as if they are just trying to get their hands on medical information prior to making a hiring decision that is more than likely protected by HIPAA/EEOC laws.
An attorney might be needed to figure out if this is actually the case.
It's on a legacy application.