Aviation

PDF

Aviation leaves little margin for error. Alongside the demands of safe operations, aviation employers face the challenges of multi-jurisdictional workforces, FAA and DOT oversight, safety-sensitive roles, and complex labor dynamics. We work with aviation employers to navigate turbulence, manage compliance, and keep workforce issues from disrupting operations.

How we can help:

Regulatory, Safety & Compliance
Labor Relations, Classification & Workforce Strategy
Litigation, Investigations & Dispute Resolution

The business of aviation is endlessly complex, with unique issues and myriad moving pieces. Labor laws and employee relations are perennial challenges, as is complying with stringent regulations governing your services and workplace, including notoriously intricate rules from the Department of Transportation (DOT). You run multi-state – and often international – operations, and each jurisdiction imposes varying wage and hour and safety standards on the ground and in the air. And, of course, you’re subject to the employment rules governing other businesses. You need labor and employment lawyers steeped in the industry to help navigate all the concerns and get you where you’re going.

Led by Daniel Farrington, who has more than 25 years of experience advising aviation industry clients on the federal, state, and local laws governing the workplace and employment, Fisher Phillips’ team is on top of the legal and business issues you face and ready to help address them. With no learning curve and a commitment to stellar service, we frequently spot issues and opportunities that others might miss and offer creative, practical solutions. Our clients include major international and national mainline airlines, regional carriers, commercial helicopter operators, airports, flight schools, logistics companies, and suppliers and contractors to the industry.

Leveraging the full resources of Fisher Phillips’ leading national labor and employment practice, lawyers on our Aviation Team help industry participants in the following areas:

Litigation, EEOC Charges, and Appeals. We have defended carriers in many hundreds of single plaintiff and class action cases encompassing wage and hour, worker classification, retaliation, breach of contract, and employee accommodations, including whistleblower claims and labor arbitrations under the Railway Labor Act (RLA). We defend major airlines and other industry participants against charges of discrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, and religion, among others, before the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and similar state and local agencies. Our lawyers also handle appeals. Moreover, we’ll help you develop compliance programs and conduct audits (including of compensation practices) designed to avert disputes in the first place.
Regulatory. We’re experienced representing airlines in matters before the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Our team handles issues including wage and hour compliance under state and federal laws, drug testing, data security and privacy, antitrust issues, and COVID-19 and other workplace safety regulations, including those imposed by the FAA and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Advice and counsel. We’ll work with your in-house team to advise on important issues and take on matters such as:
- Policies and Procedures
- Personnel and human resources issues
- Employee leaves and accommodations
- Benefits
- Employee and independent contractor agreements
- Training management and employees
- The effect of U.S. laws on international carriers