Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation

Memorandums

TLDR

This executive order mandates immediate changes to FAA hiring practices, eliminating DEI initiatives in favor of merit-based hiring, requiring review of current employees’ performance, and potentially impacting staffing and operations across the agency that oversees 45,000 daily flights and 2.9 million passengers.

This memorandum focuses on changes to FAA hiring practices and can be analyzed in several key aspects:

It mandates an immediate shift in FAA hiring practices, eliminating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in favor of what it terms “merit-based hiring”. The order specifically targets the removal of hiring considerations based on race, sex, disability, or any criteria other than job performance and qualifications.

Key Components

Immediate actions required:

  • Rescinding all DEI initiatives within the FAA
  • Implementing strictly merit-based hiring practices
  • Reviewing performance standards of current employees in critical safety positions
  • Replacing individuals deemed not meeting performance standards

The order claims that the previous administration’s DEI policies:

  • Compromised aviation safety by prioritizing diversity over competency
  • Created discriminatory hiring practices
  • Potentially excluded qualified candidates based on lack of specific demographic characteristics

The order will significantly impact the FAA’s current workforce management system, affecting:

  • Hiring procedures for over 45,000 daily flights
  • Management of safety oversight for approximately 2.9 million airline passengers daily

The order presents potential legal challenges as it:

  • May conflict with existing federal employment laws
  • Could face scrutiny regarding compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity regulations
  • Raises questions about the definition and measurement of “merit-based” criteria

Implementation challenges:

  • The immediate nature of the required changes could create operational disruptions
  • The review of current employees’ performance could lead to staffing instability
  • The order lacks specific metrics for determining “requisite capability”

The order’s broad mandate for performance review could potentially:

  • Create uncertainty in current FAA operations
  • Lead to staffing shortages if multiple positions need to be replaced
  • Impact morale among current FAA employees

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

SUBJECT: Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation

Every day, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), within the U.S. Department of Transportation, oversees safety for more than 45,000 flights and 2.9 million airline passengers. These Americans trust the FAA’s public servants with their lives, and it is therefore imperative that they maintain a commitment to excellence and efficiency.During the prior administration, however, the FAA betrayed its mission by elevating dangerous discrimination over excellence. For example, prior to my Inauguration, the FAA Diversity and Inclusion website revealed that the prior administration sought to specifically recruit and hire individuals with serious infirmities that could impact the execution of their essential life-saving duties.Illegal and discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring, including on the basis of race, sex, disability, or any other criteria other than the safety of airline passengers and overall job excellence, competency, and qualification, harms all Americans, who deserve to fly with confidence. It also penalizes hard-working Americans who want to serve in the FAA but are unable to do so, as they lack a requisite disability or skin color. FAA employees must hold the qualifications and have the ability to perform their jobs to the highest possible standard of excellence.I hereby order the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administrator to immediately return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring, as required by law. All so-called DEI initiatives, including all dangerous preferencing policies or practices, shall immediately be rescinded in favor of hiring, promoting, and otherwise treating employees on the basis of individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication.

The Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administrator shall review the past performance and performance standards of all individuals in critical safety positions and take all appropriate action to ensure that any individual who fails or has failed to demonstrate requisite capability is replaced by a high-capability individual that will ensure top-notch air safety and efficiency.