Robinson v. American Airlines, Inc., 89-7161

• Decision Date: 27 July 1990
• Docket Number: No. 89-7161,89-7161
• Citation: 908 F.2d 1020
• Parties: 134 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3086, 285 U.S.App.D.C. 261 Cecil Alfred ROBINSON, Jr., Appellant v. AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

Page 1020

908 F.2d 1020

134 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3086, 285 U.S.App.D.C. 261

Cecil Alfred ROBINSON, Jr., Appellant v. AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC.

No. 89-7161.

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued Feb. 21, 1990.

Decided July 27, 1990.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Pierre Murphy, with whom Robert M. Beckman and David M. Kirstein, Washington, D.C., were on the brief, for appellant.

Gregory S. Lewis, Washington, D.C., for appellee.

Before BUCKLEY, Circuit Judge, ROBINSON, Senior Circuit Judge, and WILLIAM H. TIMBERS, ^* Senior Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit.

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge BUCKLEY.

BUCKLEY, Circuit Judge:

The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 provides for the preferential hiring of certain categories of employees who may have lost their jobs as a result of the deregulation of the industry. Cecil Alfred Robinson brought suit against American Airlines, Inc. on a claim that he had been denied the right of first hire provided him by the Act. Because there is ample record evidence supporting United States District Judge Thomas F. Hogan's finding that Robinson was rejected on grounds permitted by the Act, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Legal Framework

To assist airline employees who might be dislocated as a result of airline deregulation, Congress established an Employee Protection Program ("EPP") as part of the Act. See Alaska Airlines, Inc. v. Brock, 480 U.S. 678, 680-81, 107 S.Ct. 1476, 1478-79, 94 L.Ed.2d 661 (1987). Section 43(d)(1) of the Act provides in relevant part as follows:

Each person who is a protected employee of an air carrier which is subject to regulation by the Civil Aeronautics Board who is furloughed or otherwise terminated by such an air carrier (other than for cause) prior to the last day of the 10-year period beginning on October 24, 1978, shall have first right of hire, regardless of age, in his occupational specialty, by any other air carrier hiring additional employees which held a certificate issued under section 1371 of this Appendix prior to October 24, 1978. Each such air carrier hiring additional employees shall have a duty to hire such a person before they hire any other person, except that such air carrier may recall any of its own furloughed employees before hiring such a person.

49 U.S.C.App. Sec. 1552(d)(1) (1982) (emphasis added).

The Act authorized the Department of Labor to issue "such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the administration" of the EPP. Id. Sec. 1552(f)(1). Pursuant to this authorization, the Department promulgated regulations that permitted covered carriers to apply their own non-age-based qualification standards and prerequisites when considering whether to hire a protected employee. 29 C.F.R. Secs. 220.11(a), 220.20(a), 220.21 (1989). In Alaska Airlines, Inc. v. Brock, No. 86-5042, mem. op. at 1 (D.C.Cir. Jan. 29, 1987) [809 F.2d 930 (table) ], we upheld these regulations generally as "clearly reasonable, consistent with the terms of the [Act], and within the Secretary's statutory authority." Robinson does not challenge their validity.

B. Factual Background

From 1968 until November of 1984, Robinson logged over 10,500 hours of flight time as a commercial airline pilot for Capitol International Airways, Inc., an air carrier subject to regulation by the Civil Aeronautics Board. In November 1984, Capitol declared bankruptcy and permanently furloughed Robinson. One year later, Robinson applied for a position with American, asserting his rights as a protected employee under the EPP. American invited Robinson to participate in its application process. Prior to appearing for his appointment with American, Robinson renewed his FAA medical certificate, meeting all of the FAA's medical requirements.

Evidence at trial established that American employs a three-phase application process when hiring new pilots. Phase I consists of a personnel interview and a preliminary medical examination in which the applicant's blood pressure, height, weight, and other physical characteristics are measured and other tests performed. Applicants who do not meet any one of the medical standards established by American are disqualified from further processing and are rejected. Candidates who survive this preliminary examination move on to Phase II, which consists of a comprehensive medical examination and a personality test. On the basis of medical criteria established by American, Phase II applicants are ranked on a scale from one to five; those who score four or five move on to Phase III. In this final phase, applicants undergo a flight simulator evaluation and an interview with a panel of retired American captains. Applicants with protected status under the EPP who successfully complete Phase III are hired, and the balance of new hires are selected from among the nonprotected applicants who complete Phase III. American thus does not afford a protected applicant his right of first hire unless he successfully completes all three phases of the application process.

At his Phase I examination, Robinson's height and weight were measured at 71 inches and 203.5 pounds, respectively. His blood pressure was measured at 164/100 (reclining) and 156/98 (sitting). Robinson weighed 2.5 pounds more than the maximum allowed on a height/weight proportion table used by American as a qualification standard. His blood pressure also exceeded American's Phase I limit of 150/90.

About three weeks after Robinson's examination, he received a form letter from American's Manager of Pilot Recruitment informing him that although he met American's "basic qualifications," he would not be offered a position because the hiring "process [was] highly competitive and many other factors [were] evaluated." Robinson v. American Airlines, Inc., 722 F.Supp. 757, 762 (D.D.C.1989) ("Mem. op."). After inquiring why he had been rejected, Robinson received another letter stating that although he met the company's "minimum technical qualifications," he was "not as competitive as those pilots" American was "presently selecting." Id. at 762. The class of pilots eventually hired by American from this round of processing did not include anyone with protected status under section 43 of the Act.

Robinson filed this suit alleging that American's refusal to hire him violated his right of first hire under section 43 of the Act. After a two-day bench trial, Judge Hogan found the facts set forth above and noted that Department of Labor regulations authorized American to apply its "legitimate 'prerequisites,' 'qualifications' or 'other requirements' " to screen the applications of protected employees. Id. at 15-16. He concluded that Robinson's employment application was rejected on the basis of bona fide hiring qualifications, and that Robinson was therefore not improperly denied the right of first hire guaranteed by section 43 of the Act. Accordingly, he granted judgment for American and dismissed Robinson's complaint with prejudice. Robinson v. American Airlines, Inc., 722 F.Supp. 757 (D.D.C.1989). Robinson appeals.

II. DISCUSSION

Robinson contends that the district court's findings on certain key issues of fact are clearly erroneous. A trial court's findings of fact will not be found clearly erroneous unless the court's account of the evidence is implausible in view of the entire record and it is apparent that its findings are clearly mistaken. See Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 573-74, 105 S.Ct. 1504, 1511, 84 L.Ed.2d 518 (1985). Specifically, Robinson argues that American's height/weight standard and Phase I 150/90 blood pressure standard are not bona fide safety-based medical qualifications. He points to the fact that these standards are stricter than those required by the FAA and are not applied by American to its current or furloughed pilots. Robinson also argues that the Phase I criteria were not consistently applied by American, that his blood pressure was not properly tested, and that the court improperly ignored evidence that he met American's basic qualifications but was not hired because he was not as competitive as other applicants. In support of his contentions, Robinson essentially reargues the evidence presented at trial. We conclude, however, that the district court's findings are amply supported by the record and entirely plausible in view of the evidence. We are thus unpersuaded that the court committed clear error in judging the facts.

The...