In order to meet its targets for Diversity Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, (DEIA), the Federal Aviation Administration is recruiting for people with severe mental disabilities, psychiatric problems and physical disabilities.
The recruiting campaign comes at an awkward time, as companies like Spirit AeroSystems, which built the malfunctioning fuselage for Boeing 737 MAX 9s, have crowed to their shareholders about hitting their DEI targets for hiring, and firing white men in order to met their diversity quotas.
Targeted disabilities by the FAA are people with disabilities that the federal government, as a matter of policy, has identified for special emphasis in recruitment and hiring,” the FAA’s website says.
The FAA’s targeted disabilities for hiring are, in the agency’s own words:
- Hearing (total deafness in both ears)
- Vision (Blind)
- Missing Extremities
- Partial Paralysis
- Complete Paralysis, Epilepsy
- Severe intellectual disability
- Psychiatric disability
- Dwarfism
“Individuals with targeted disabilities have the greatest difficulty obtaining employment. This is the only protected group for which Federal agencies may have a hiring goal,” the FAA says on its target web page.
According to the FAA, people with these disabilities can be hired “on the spot.”
“The ‘On-the-Spot’ special appointment authority is a non-competitive hiring method for filling vacancies for people with disabilities. Full benefits are awarded to the non-competitive appointee.”
The FAA also says that managers can choose to fill an open position through the “On-the-Spot” hiring process.
“The Office of Civil Rights National People with Disabilities Program Manager and Human Resource Management Selective Placement Coordinators share non-competitive position descriptions with a broad network of disability employment collaborators to recruit qualified applicants with disabilities.”
Applicants wishing to be hired through the non-competitive, on-the-spot process “should be prepared to provide his or her résumé, references, and academic transcripts. They are also required to provide documentation pertaining to the existence of a disability.”
Related FAA links:
The timing of the discovery of the FAA’s bias-hiring comes as airlines and air manufacturers are also emphasizing DEI over expertise, safety, and quality control.
Spirit AeroSystems, which built the faulty fuselage for the Boeing 737 MAX-9, has made DEI its priority and is now fighting a class action lawsuit from a whistleblower, who says that Spirit Aerosystems has deemphasized safety in pursuit of hiring goals and profit.
The lawsuit claims, “Dean noticed a significant deterioration in Spirit’s workforce after the mass layoffs that Spirit carried out during the COVID pandemic. Dean states that Spirit laid off or voluntarily retired a large number of senior engineers and mechanics, leaving a disproportionate number of new and less experienced personnel. Dean estimates that whereas Spirit previously had about 80% experienced mechanics and 20% inexperienced, those numbers are now approximately 60% and 40% respectively. Dean states Spirit had similar problems with inexperienced quality auditors and inspectors. Dean believes this lack of experienced personnel negatively impacted the quality of Spirit’s work, resulting in more rework and repairs that had to be performed.”
That lawsuit is linked here:
The White House’s DEI executive order is at this link.
