§ 44936. Employment investigations and restrictions

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(a)Employment Investigation Requirement.—

(A)The Administrator shall require by regulation that an employment investigation, including a criminal history record check and a review of available law enforcement data bases and records of other governmental and international agencies to the extent determined practicable by the Administrator, shall be conducted of each individual employed in, or applying for, a position as a security screener under section 44935(e) or a position in which the individual has unescorted access, or may permit other individuals to have unescorted access, to—

(i)aircraft of an air carrier or foreign air carrier; or

(ii)a secured area of an airport in the United States the Administrator designates that serves an air carrier or foreign air carrier.

(B)The Administrator shall require by regulation that an employment investigation (including a criminal history record check and a review of available law enforcement data bases and records of other governmental and international agencies to the extent determined practicable by the Administrator) be conducted for—

(i)individuals who are responsible for screening passengers or property under section 44901 of this title;

(ii)supervisors of the individuals described in clause (i);

(iii)individuals who regularly have escorted access to aircraft of an air carrier or foreign air carrier or a secured area of an airport in the United States the Administrator designates that serves an air carrier or foreign air carrier; and

(iv)such other individuals who exercise security functions associated with baggage or cargo, as the Administrator determines is necessary to ensure air transportation security.

(C)Exemption.— An employment investigation, including a criminal history record check, shall not be required under this subsection for an individual who is exempted under section 107.31(m)(1) or

(2)of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on November 22, 2000. The Administrator shall work with the International Civil Aviation Organization and with appropriate authorities of foreign countries to ensure that individuals exempted under this subparagraph do not pose a threat to aviation or national security.

(2)An air carrier, foreign air carrier, airport operator, or government that employs, or authorizes or makes a contract for the services of, an individual in a position described in paragraph

(1)of this subsection shall ensure that the investigation the Administrator requires is conducted.

(3)The Administrator shall provide for the periodic audit of the effectiveness of criminal history record checks conducted under paragraph

(1)of this subsection.

(b)Prohibited Employment.—

(1)Except as provided in paragraph

(3)of this subsection, an air carrier, foreign air carrier, airport operator, or government may not employ, or authorize or make a contract for the services of, an individual in a position described in subsection (a)(1) of this section if—

(A)the investigation of the individual required under this section has not been conducted; or

(B)the results of that investigation establish that, in the 10-year period ending on the date of the investigation, the individual was convicted (or found not guilty by reason of insanity) of—

(i)a crime referred to in section 46306, 46308, 46312, 46314, or 46315 or chapter 465 of this title or section 32 of title 18;

(ii)murder;

(iii)assault with intent to murder;

(iv)espionage;

(v)sedition;

(vi)treason;

(vii)rape;

(viii)kidnapping;

(ix)unlawful possession, sale, distribution, or manufacture of an explosive or weapon;

(x)extortion;

(xi)armed or felony unarmed robbery;

(xii)distribution of, or intent to distribute, a controlled substance;

(xiii)a felony involving a threat;

(xiv)a felony involving—

(I)willful destruction of property;

(II)importation or manufacture of a controlled substance;

(III)burglary;

(IV)theft;

(V)dishonesty, fraud, or misrepresentation;

(VI)possession or distribution of stolen property;

(VII)aggravated assault;

(VIII)bribery; and

(IX)illegal possession of a controlled substance punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of more than 1 year, or any other crime classified as a felony that the Administrator determines indicates a propensity for placing contraband aboard an aircraft in return for money; or

(xv)conspiracy to commit any of the acts referred to in clauses

(i)through (xiv).

(2)The Administrator may specify other factors that are sufficient to prohibit the employment of an individual in a position described in subsection (a)(1) of this section.

(3)An air carrier, foreign air carrier, airport operator, or government may employ, or authorize or contract for the services of, an individual in a position described in subsection (a)(1) of this section without carrying out the investigation required under this section, if the Administrator approves a plan to employ the individual that provides alternate security arrangements.

(c)Fingerprinting and Record Check Information.—

(1)If the Administrator requires an identification and criminal history record check, to be conducted by the Attorney General, as part of an investigation under this section, the Administrator shall designate an individual to obtain fingerprints and submit those fingerprints to the Attorney General. The Attorney General may make the results of a check available to an individual the Administrator designates. Before designating an individual to obtain and submit fingerprints or receive results of a check, the Administrator shall consult with the Attorney General. All Federal agencies shall cooperate with the Administrator and the Administrator’s designee in the process of collecting and submitting fingerprints.

(2)The Administrator shall prescribe regulations on—

(A)procedures for taking fingerprints; and

(B)requirements for using information received from the Attorney General under paragraph

(1)of this subsection—

(i)to limit the dissemination of the information; and

(ii)to ensure that the information is used only to carry out this section.

(3)If an identification and criminal history record check is conducted as part of an investigation of an individual under this section, the individual—

(A)shall receive a copy of any record received from the Attorney General; and

(B)may complete and correct the information contained in the check before a final employment decision is made based on the check.

(d)Fees and Charges.— The Administrator and the Attorney General shall establish reasonable fees and charges to pay expenses incurred in carrying out this section. The employer of the individual being investigated shall pay the costs of a record check of the individual. Money collected under this section shall be credited to the account in the Treasury from which the expenses were incurred and are available to the Administrator and the Attorney General for those expenses.

(e)When Investigation or Record Check Not Required.— This section does not require an investigation or record check when the investigation or record check is prohibited by a law of a foreign country.

(f)Definition of Administrator.— In this section, the term “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.

(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1218; Pub. L. 104–264, title III, §§ 304(a), 306, title V, § 502(a), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3251, 3252, 3259; Pub. L. 105–102, § 2(25), Nov. 20, 1997, 111 Stat. 2205; Pub. L. 105–142, § 1, Dec. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 2650; Pub. L. 106–181, title V, § 508, Apr. 5, 2000, 114 Stat. 140; Pub. L. 106–528, § 2(c), (d), Nov. 22, 2000, 114 Stat. 2517, 2518; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, §§ 101(f)(7), (9), 111(b), 138(a), (b)(1), 140(a)(1), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603, 620, 639–641; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(27), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3638.)

In subsection (a), the text of section 346 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1992 (Public Law 102–143, 105 Stat. 949) is omitted as executed.

In subsection (a)(2), the words “shall ensure” are substituted for “shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure” to eliminate unnecessary words. The word “conducted” is substituted for “performed” for consistency in the revised title.

In subsection (b)(2), the words “The Administrator may specify” are substituted for “The Administrator may specify . . . the Administrator determines” to eliminate unnecessary words. The words “prohibit the employment of an individual” are substituted for “make an individual ineligible for employment” for clarity.

In subsection (b)(3), the words “may employ” are substituted for “It shall not be a violation of subparagraph

(A)for . . . to employ” to eliminate unnecessary words.

In subsection (c)(1), the words “Before designating an individual to obtain and submit fingerprints or receive results of a check, the Administrator shall consult with the Attorney General” are substituted for “after consultation with the Attorney General” for clarity.

In subsection (c)(2), before clause (A), the words “For purposes of administering this subsection” are omitted as unnecessary. In clause (A), the word “implement” is omitted as unnecessary because of the restatement. In clause (B), before subclause (ii), the word “establish” is omitted as unnecessary because of the restatement. In subclause (ii), the words “to carry out this section” are substituted for “for the purposes of this section” for clarity.

In subsection (e), the words “a law of a foreign country” are substituted for “applicable laws of a foreign government” for clarity and consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code.

Pub. L. 105–102

This amends 49:44936(f)(1)(C) to reflect the redesignation of 49:30305(b)(7) as 49:30305(b)(8) by section 207(b) of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–324, 110 Stat. 3908).

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