49 U.S.C. § 44935 - Employment standards and training

• Cite as: 49 U.S.C. § 44935

(a) EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS.-The Administrator shall prescribe standards for the employment and continued employment of, and contracting for, air carrier personnel and, as appropriate, airport security personnel. The standards shall include-

(1) minimum training requirements for new employees;

(2) retraining requirements;

(3) minimum staffing levels;

(4) minimum language skills; and

(5) minimum education levels for employees, when appropriate.

(b) REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS.-In coordination with air carriers, airport operators, and other interested persons, the Administrator shall review issues related to human performance in the aviation security system to maximize that performance. When the review is completed, the Administrator shall recommend guidelines and prescribe appropriate changes in existing procedures to improve that performance.

(c) SECURITY PROGRAM TRAINING, STANDARDS, AND QUALIFICATIONS.-

(1) The Administrator-

(A) may train individuals employed to carry out a security program under section 44903(c) of this title; and

(B) shall prescribe uniform training standards and uniform minimum qualifications for individuals eligible for that training.

(2) The Administrator may authorize reimbursement for travel, transportation, and subsistence expenses for security training of non-United States Government domestic and foreign individuals whose services will contribute significantly to carrying out civil aviation security programs. To the extent practicable, air travel reimbursed under this paragraph shall be on air carriers.

(d) EDUCATION AND TRAINING STANDARDS FOR SECURITY COORDINATORS, SUPERVISORY PERSONNEL, AND PILOTS.-

(1) The Administrator shall prescribe standards for educating and training-

(A) ground security coordinators;

(B) security supervisory personnel; and

(C) airline pilots as in-flight security coordinators.

(2) The standards shall include initial training, retraining, and continuing education requirements and methods. Those requirements and methods shall be used annually to measure the performance of ground security coordinators and security supervisory personnel.

(e) SECURITY SCREENERS.-

(1) TRAINING PROGRAM.-The Administrator shall establish a program for the hiring and training of security screening personnel.

(2) HIRING.-

(A) QUALIFICATIONS.-The Administrator shall establish qualification standards for individuals to be hired by the United States as security screening personnel. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, those standards shall require, at a minimum, an individual-

(i) to have a satisfactory or better score on a Federal security screening personnel selection examination;

(ii) to be a citizen of the United States or a national of the United States, as defined in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22) );

(iii) to meet, at a minimum, the requirements set forth in subsection (f);

(iv) to meet such other qualifications as the Administrator may establish; and

(v) to have the ability to demonstrate daily a fitness for duty without any impairment due to illegal drugs, sleep deprivation, medication, or alcohol.

(B) BACKGROUND CHECKS.-The Administrator shall require that an individual to be hired as a security screener undergo an employment investigation (including a criminal history record check) under section 44936(a)(1).

(C) DISQUALIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS WHO PRESENT NATIONAL SECURITY RISKS.-The Administrator, in consultation with the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall establish procedures, in addition to any background check conducted under section 44936, to ensure that no individual who presents a threat to national security is employed as a security screener.

(3) EXAMINATION; REVIEW OF EXISTING RULES.-The Administrator shall develop a security screening personnel examination for use in determining the qualification of individuals seeking employment as security screening personnel. The Administrator shall also review, and revise as necessary, any standard, rule, or regulation governing the employment of individuals as security screening personnel.

(f) EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS FOR SCREENING PERSONNEL.-

(1) SCREENER REQUIREMENTS.-Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an individual may not be deployed as a security screener unless that individual meets the following requirements:

(A) The individual shall possess a high school diploma, a general equivalency diploma, or experience that the Administrator has determined to be sufficient for the individual to perform the duties of the position.

(B) The individual shall possess basic aptitudes and physical abilities, including color perception, visual and aural acuity, physical coordination, and motor skills, to the following standards:

(i) Screeners operating screening equipment shall be able to distinguish on the screening equipment monitor the appropriate imaging standard specified by the Administrator.