FAA Class Action
JUNE 2019 UPDATE — EEOC JUDGE ORDERS CLASS TO BE DECERTIFIED
In an Order issued recently, the EEOC Administrative Judge granted FAA’s motion to decertify the class. The Judge ruled that the Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. 338 (2011) requires that the class be broken apart, and that all African Americans with claims regarding discriminatory non-promotions and non-selections bring their claims forward individually.
This is a set-back for the class claims, but it is not the end of the road. The Class Agents and the Class have authorized us to appeal this Order. We will be appealing this issue to the EEOC appellate office in Washington, DC, and asking that the class continue to move forward together as a unified group. There is no specific deadline for the appeal office to issue a decision. We will update this website promptly as soon as we learn additional information.
MAY 2018 UPDATE
Both the Class and FAA have filed Motions for Summary Judgment, asking the EEOC Administrative Judge to enter a final ruling on the case before the need for an administrative trial. The parties are currently in the process of submitting response and reply briefs to the Judge. Once the Judge enters a decision on the parties’ motions, we will update the status of the case and the plan moving forward on this website.
JUNE 2016 UPDATE
The parties have begun Expert Witness discovery. This phase of the case includes identification of each parties’ expert witnesses, production of expert witness reports, and depositions of expert witnesses. Following expert witness discovery, the EEOC Administrative Judge will decide whether the case should go forward to a class-wide administrative trial.
APRIL 2013 UPDATE: EEOC REJECTS FAA MOTION TO DISMISS
The EEOC Administrative Judge has denied the FAA’s motion to de-certify and dismiss the class action complaint. The EEOC held that the FAA motion did not present sufficient evidence or legal argument to support dismissal of the class action. The case will now move forward to the next phase of discovery.
SEPTEMBER 2012 UPDATE
FAA has filed a motion to de-certify and dismiss the class complaint, relying primarily on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011). The Class filed a response with the EEOC, and the FAA motion is now being considered by the EEOC Administrative Judge.
FEBRUARY 2009 UPDATE
On January 29, 2009, the EEOC Administrative Judge issued an Order denying the Agency’s Renewed Motion to Dismiss the Class Complaint. The Agency had filed a second Motion to Dismiss, after their first Motion to Dismiss was denied in 2008.
EEOC EXPANDS CLASS
The EEOC Administrative Judge has redefined the Class to include African-American external applicants in addition to African-American employees at the MMAC. Specifically, the class definition now reads:
“Whether the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma discriminated against African-American applicants during the period beginning February 6, 2001 to the present and African-American employees occupying permanent positions during the period of November 1, 1997 to the present, who were denied employment (in either temporary or permanent GS-5 or higher positions) or promotion to a GS-5 or higher position (either competitively or non-competitively) due to the disparate impact of subjective promotion practices on the basis of their race.”
On September 28, 2005, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Office of Federal Operations issued a Decision approving class certification. The certified class includes all African American employees employed by the Federal Aviation Administration at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in a permanent position during the period of November 1, 1997 to the present who were denied competitive and/or noncompetitive promotion to a GS-5 or higher position.
In a decision dated November 29, 2005, the EEOC denied the Agency’s Motion to Reconsider the EEOC’s Decision approving class certification. The certified class action has been remanded back to the Hearings Unit of the EEOC’s Dallas office.
We will periodically update this webpage to keep the Class informed regarding the case.
e-mail us about the FAA class action at: FAAclass@katorparks.com
