Notice2021-17749
Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee: Notice of Solicitation of Nominations for Appointment for the Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 19, 2021
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) has established a subcommittee of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC) to focus on preventing discrimination and ensuring air travelers are treated equally and without bias. The Department invites interested persons to submit applications or nominations for membership to this subcommittee, which has been named the Anti- Discrimination Subcommittee. The Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee is charged with making recommendations to the ACPAC on best practices related to training and other practices or actions that can be taken by DOT, airlines or others to ensure nondiscriminatory delivery of airlines' programs and activities to air travelers. The recommendations of the Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee will receive full review, deliberation and proper consideration in a public meeting of the ACPAC before final recommendations are submitted to the Department.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 158 (Thursday, August 19, 2021)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 158 (Thursday, August 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46753-46754]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17749]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2018-0190]
Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee: Notice of
Solicitation of Nominations for Appointment for the Anti-Discrimination
Subcommittee
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION: Solicitation of nominations for appointment for the Anti-
Discrimination Subcommittee.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) has
established a subcommittee of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory
Committee (ACPAC) to focus on preventing discrimination and ensuring
air travelers are treated equally and without bias. The Department
invites interested persons to submit applications or nominations for
membership to this subcommittee, which has been named the Anti-
Discrimination Subcommittee. The Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee is
charged with making recommendations to the ACPAC on best practices
related to training and other practices or actions that can be taken by
DOT, airlines or others to ensure nondiscriminatory delivery of
airlines' programs and activities to air travelers. The recommendations
of the Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee will receive full review,
deliberation and proper consideration in a public meeting of the ACPAC
before final recommendations are submitted to the Department.
DATES: Applications and nominations for membership must be received on
or before September 20, 2021. You may submit your applications and
nominations electronically via email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3a7b797b796a7a5e554e145d554c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f7b6b4b6b4a7b7939883d9909881">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, please
contact Maegan Johnson, Senior Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of
Transportation, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b8d5d9dddfd9d696d2d7d0d6cbd7d6f8dcd7cc96dfd7ce"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2a474b4f4d4b4404404542445945446a4e455e044d455c">[email protected]</span></a>, or by telephone at
202-366-9342.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 24, 2012, the Department established an advisory committee
on aviation consumer protection as mandated by the FAA Reauthorization
Act of 2012. The statutory termination date for the Committee was
originally September 30, 2015, but has been extended several times,
most recently by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (2018 FAA Act) to
the current termination date of September 20, 2023. The purpose of the
Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee is to evaluate existing
aviation consumer protection programs and provide recommendations to
the Secretary for improving and establishing additional aviation
consumer protection programs. Consumer protection inherently includes
preventing unlawful discrimination against consumers.
Establishment of the Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee
Airlines are prohibited from discriminating against passengers
based on race, national origin, religion, ancestry, gender, gender
identity and sexual orientation or as otherwise prohibited under 49
U.S.C. 40127(a) and 49 U.S.C. 41310. 49 U.S.C. 40127(a) states that
U.S. and foreign air carriers may not subject a person in air
transportation to discrimination because of ``race, color, national
origin, religion, sex, or ancestry.'' In addition, 49 U.S.C. 41310(a)
prohibits U.S. and foreign airlines from unreasonable discrimination
against any person in foreign air transportation. The Department also
interprets 49 U.S.C. Sec. 41712 (which prohibits airlines and ticket
agents from engaging in unfair and deceptive practices and unfair
methods of competition) and 49 U.S.C. 41702 (which requires airlines to
provide safe and adequate interstate air transportation) as prohibiting
discrimination against airline passengers. The Department is
responsible for ensuring that airlines adhere to Federal non-
discrimination laws.
The 2018 FAA Act requires the Department to develop best practices
to improve airline nondiscrimination training policies in consultation
with persons of diverse backgrounds in race, ethnicity, religion and
gender, national organizations that represent those communities,
airlines, airports and contract service providers. To help inform this
effort, in August 2019, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
issued a report identifying key considerations for airline non-
discrimination training programs.
[[Page 46754]]
In January 2021, President Biden renewed the Federal government's
commitment to civil rights and directed Federal agencies to address all
forms of discrimination. The Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity
and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
(E.O. 13985) requires Federal agencies to recognize and work to redress
inequities in their policies and programs, assess whether the agency's
programs and policies perpetuate systemic barriers to opportunities and
benefits for people of color and other underserved groups, and assess
whether new policies, regulations, or guidance documents may be
necessary to advance equity in agency actions and programs. The
Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis
of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation (E.O. 13988) requires Federal
agencies to conduct a review of regulations, guidance, and other agency
actions that prohibit sex discrimination and consider whether to
revise, suspend, or rescind such actions or promulgate new actions, to
ensure that laws that prevent discrimination on the basis of gender
identity or sexual orientation are fully implemented and enforced.
Also, the Presidential Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism,
Xenophobia, and Intolerance against Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders (January 29 Memorandum) requires Federal agencies to take
steps to ensure that official actions, documents, and statements
pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic do not exhibit or contribute to
racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against members of Asian American
and Pacific Islander communities.
The Department has established the Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee
under the ACPAC to review airlines' policies, procedures, and practices
to prevent discrimination against air travelers on the basis of race,
national origin, religion, ancestry and gender, gender identity, and
sexual orientation. The Department will select the following entities
and diverse persons to serve on the Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee:
Persons of diverse backgrounds in race, ethnicity, religion and gender;
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) persons; national
organizations that represent diverse racial, ethnic, and religious
communities; national organizations that represent LGBTQ+ communities,
airlines, airport operators, contract service providers, and ticket
agents. The Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee is tasked with providing
recommendations to the ACPAC on best practices related to civil rights
training and other practices or actions that can be taken by DOT,
airlines or others to ensure nondiscriminatory delivery of airlines'
programs and activities to air travelers in accordance with section 407
of the 2018 FAA Act, Executive Orders 13985 and 13988, and President
Biden's January 29 Memorandum. Meetings will be held in person in
Washington, DC and/or through a publicly accessible virtual format.
Selection of Members to Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee
The Department will choose Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee members
based on three main criteria: (1) Representativeness (does the
applicant represent the airline industry, any group with members who
have experienced discrimination on the basis of race, national origin,
religion, ancestry, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or an
otherwise prohibited category under Federal law, or other interested
parties such as airports or ticket agents?); (2) expertise (does the
applicant bring essential knowledge, expertise and/or experience
regarding aviation civil rights and the topic area(s) of interest that
will enrich the discussion of the available options and their
respective costs and benefits?); and (3) willingness to participate
fully (is the applicant able and willing to attend meetings and
generally contribute constructively to a rigorous policy development
process?). The Department may select more than one representative for a
group, if appropriate, to obtain balanced membership.
Individuals applying for membership should keep in mind that Anti-
Discrimination Subcommittee members will be selected based on their
ability and willingness to effectively represent the interests of all
stakeholders in their category, as distinct from their parochial or
personal interests. For example, an individual selected to serve on the
Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee as a representative of an airline
would represent not only his or her own airline, but the interests of
all airlines. As such, the individual would be expected to consult with
other airlines in bringing issues to the table before the Anti-
Discrimination Subcommittee.
All interested individuals may self-apply or nominate any
individual or organization to the Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee. To
be considered, applicants/nominators should submit the following
information:
<bullet> Name, title, organization, and contact information
(address, telephone number and email address) of nominee/applicant;
<bullet> Category of membership that the nominee/applicant is
qualified to represent;
<bullet> Resume of the applicant or short biography of the nominee
including professional and academic credentials;
<bullet> A statement of nomination on why the applicant wants to
serve or the nominator is nominating the individual to serve, and the
unique perspectives and experiences the nominee brings to the
Committee;
<bullet> An affirmative statement that the applicant/nominee meets
the eligibility requirements; and
<bullet> Optional letters of support.
Please do not send company, trade association, organization
brochures, or any other promotional information. Materials submitted
should total five pages or less. Should more information be needed,
Department staff will contact the applicant/nominee, obtain information
from the applicant's/nominee's past affiliations, or obtain information
from publicly available sources. All application/nomination materials
should be submitted electronically via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#93d2d0d2d0c3d3f7fce7bdf4fce5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4c0d0f0d0f1c0c282338622b233a">[email protected]</span></a> on or
before September 20, 2021. Any person needing accessibility
accommodations with preparing and/or submitting nominations should
contact Maegan Johnson, Senior Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of
Transportation, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#deb3bfbbb9bfb0f0b4b1b6b0adb1b09ebab1aaf0b9b1a8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0469656163656a2a6e6b6c6a776b6a44606b702a636b72">[email protected]</span></a>, or by telephone at
202-366-9342.
Persons selected for appointment to the Anti-Discrimination
Subcommittee will be notified by return email and by a letter of
appointment. Members of the Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee are
responsible for their own travel and per diem expenses.
John E. Putnam,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2021-17749 Filed 8-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 19, 2021.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.