Can airlines ask about medical history?
 

I know that when applying to at least one company they ask,

“Have you lost or had your FAA MEDICAL suspended for any reason?”

It then wants to know when and why.

I’m not an attorney, but I don’t see how this is legal at all.

Anyone have experience with this?

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.

Can an airline ask you? Yes, the airline can.

Are you required to answer the question? No.

Does the airline have to hire you? No.

If you cannot see how this is legal, what shows you that it is illegal?

https://www.eeoc.gov/pre-employment-...s-examinations

Many state laws are even more restrictive.

Irrelevant.

The employer has the right to determine if the employee can do the job. We do not hire blind airline pilots. Go figure.

A pilot hired for a job that requires lifting and full mobility, such as loading and unloading a DC-3 of freight, may determine if the pilot can lift a given amount, or if the pilot has a medical condition which precludes doing that job. I have been employed in locations where weight was a specific disqualifier to the use of an ejection seat, and thus a disqualifier for the job.

Airlines regularly ask if one has a criminal history. Airlines ask about one's medical and require proof, and medical certification is a condition of employement as well as a regulatory requirement.

An employer can ask if you've ever failed a checkride. An employer can ask if you've ever been arrested. An employer can ask if you've ever had your medical certificate denied, suspended, or revoked.

The employer can ask your favorite color, star sign, or pet. You are not required to answer.

The employer is not obligated to hire you. The employer is also not obligated to tell you why you weren't hired.

An employero may provide a full medical examination which is not part of FAA medical certification, or may set additional or higher standards, should the employer choose. You are not entitled to the job and the employer is not obligated to give it to you.

When you come to an employer in supplication and application for a job, you are a beggar, not a chooser. Don't let entitlement blind you to think otherwise.

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.

Actually, I don't think they can even ask.

From the EEOC link that Excargdog posted,

"An employer may not ask a job applicant, for example, if he or she has a disability (or about the nature of an obvious disability). An employer also may not ask a job applicant to answer medical questions or take a medical exam before making a job offer."

Are you saying that EEOC laws are irrelevant and that airlines can ignore them? They can't and this has been proven in the past.

You are trying to compare apples to oranges in an effort to justify asking about medical records.

Checkrides are fair game. Your criminal history is usually fair game. There are laws that cover expungement/sealed records that are for a different topic though. However, your MEDICAL HISTORY is not fair game and there are a mountain of laws that protect people from having it used against them.

You don't have to hire anyone, but you can only have access to the cards you're legally allowed to have prior to making that decision.

Nobody is entitled to the job, much like the employer isn't entitled to information they (potentially) have no legal right to know.

If it's a legacy they almost certainly know what they're doing legally (as opposed to a 135 Mom n Pop).

There have been a variety of legal cases over the last 30 years and the dust has mostly settled on this stuff.

I'd guess the company is based in a biz friendly state such as TX or GA...

Also HIPAA has absolutely nothing to with disclosure of medical info by the patient himself.... you are always free to do that.

They might know. I'm not sure. That's why I asked if this has been encountered before.

Your guess is a pretty good one.

Correct about HIPAA. We can disclose whatever we want to. However, if the said reason for the FAA medical issue was tied to the EEOC, then they legally cannot ask and you do not have to disclose, at least as I read and interpret the laws. It also doesn't matter what state you live in when it comes to EEOC, it's a federal statute and takes precedence.