PRIA - Pilot Record Improvement Act ????

[LegacyDriver]

An interesting question popped into my head when I jokingly referred to PRIA in another thread.

Don't quote me but, as I recall the carrier your work for must provide disciplinary action letters that have not "subsequently been overturned" or something like that. Now, those at my airline know how long the friggin' Union takes to get anything done, and our beloved leadership likes to shoot first and ask questions later (thanks to our redneck Chief Pilot who loves the sound of his own gruff voice and wouldn't know what integrity was if it bit his rear end off) instead of sticking up for his pilots when they're right.

If you are grieving a letter of discipline will that still be included in a PRIA background check? If so, then how does one explain a (bull$h*t) disciplinary letter to a future employer, particularly if it has nothing whatsoever to do with safety of flight issues (i.e. no-showing a trip or b*tchslapping a ramper, etc..)?

"I was disciplined for a false allegation of misconduct but my Union is fighting it" isn't going to get you a job and not being upfront will get you yanked out of class in the middle of groundschool. What's the right approach here?

I don't feel like waiting here until my record is cleared to apply to the places I want to jump ship for.

 

[blzr]

Good Question. When I left PDT, the chief pilot tried three different times to find out where I was going to no avail. My new employer didn't need a reference nor were my records requested, not that anything bad was there anyway.

I would bet that your new employer would let you explain your side of the story. I.E. So, you n-showed a trip last summer it says in your file.
You would say- Well, actually, on my way to the airport, there was a bad accident which caused me to sign in 5 minutes past my report time. Most employers besides PDT understand that Shiit happens.

Tell the truth and it shall set you free.

Good luck

 

[LegacyDriver]

One hopes. Since I've never actually reviewed my file (stupidity on my part) I don't even know what's in it. Our Chief Pilot keeps his own "personal" file that supposedly doesn't go into the permanent record, but he's such a snake in the grass that I wouldn't be shocked if everything he's ever talked to a pilot about would be in there if he knew said pilot was leaving the company.

I will plea ignorance for now since that really *is* the truth.

 

[jumppilot]

Wow, I just realized something....





Could it be?

 

[LegacyDriver]

No, it cannot be. Nice try, though. He's not the only pilot in the world with bad stuff in his file and neither am I. If you work for the same company then you know how B*** is. That's what has me worked up. What goes in the B*** File and what goes in the "REAL" file? And is the B*** File even legal under our contract?

That aside, I have lost all respect for you jp. Anyone with a Marine avatar should understand what brotherhood is about and trying to stomp on a guy when he's down is really pathetic if you ask me... Guys like you have totally burned me out on this place.

Meanwhile, still waiting for an answer to my original question. Not sure anyone even knows.

 

[Lear70]

Sorry, didn't read the original thread when you posted or I would have responded.

The PRIA requires, by law, that ONLY discipline that has actually occurred, i.e. a Letter of Warning, Suspension, or Termination, etc can be contained in your pilot file. That is, of course, including your training records, which can include all letters you have written to the company in seeking the job, resumes, and your resignation letter as it is your indication that you resigned your employment, so be careful what you write on your departure (that's why I found out most of this stuff - took me a while to get that resignation letter removed and it technically was legal for them to keep it in there).

You can request your own pilot file via PRIA at any time, and most carriers allow you to view it without requesting a copy in writing if you give a few days notice and make an appointment, usually a function of an admin clerk or HR representative rather than the C.P.

So the question is, were you given a Letter of Warning? By our contract, we have to sign ours, and that's the magic word that lets them include it in our "official file" (we have an unofficial one as well). If the above answers are yes, then it's in your file and your prospective employer WILL receive it in a PRIA request. If you were, does the process allow you to have it removed after a period of time? Might be your only help, wait for time to go by and get some letters from people who were witnesses to the event in your favor to take with you to an interview, bonus points 'cause they would also help prove your case in arbitration.

Same thing with a suspension; if you actually served the suspension and the Association is fighting it after the fact, then yes, it shows up on PRIA as the suspension DID occur, even if it was under protest.

We have several guys who were wrongfully disciplined, up to and including termination, for reasons more political than not who have had a hard time finding new work because of the B.S. in their file. Not saying they were innocent, but the punishment was definitely way overboard for the infractions they committed... getting a Letter Of Warning in your pilot file for having your medical in on the 26th instead of the FOM-stated 25th because the doctor had to postpone your physical because HE wasn't available? That's just deliberately malicious, but unfortunately it happens all the time...

Good luck.

 

[LegacyDriver]

Awesome information, Lear. Thanks. Our contract allows stuff to be removed after two years (if you keep a clean record during that time). The bummer being that I would have to be here a bit longer than a year to get rid of the letter in my file that I know is there and I would prefer to be gone sooner.

I have never signed for anything. Our contract doesn't specify. I made the mistake of talking to the CP without the Union on the horn. He said, "Just tell me your side so I can take care of this." I did as he said. He said, "Case closed. Consider your a** chewed." About three weeks later I got a nastily-worded hate-o-gram in the mail. It didn't say if it went into my personnel file or not, which is why I am wary.

I'm kinda' fearful of snooping around and tipping them off to who I am. Any thought that a pilot is leaving the company for anywhere other than a major is not looked upon kindly I am told.

Glad to see someone out there sympathetic to the causes of pilots suffering from politically malicious persecution from Management types. I continue to be amazed at the perception that anything coming from MGT is gospel and that pilots are to be questioned/regarded with suspicion at every turn.

I guess we'll see. Maybe I could learn to be a truck driver.

 

[jumppilot]

That aside, I have lost all respect for you jp. Anyone with a Marine avatar should understand what brotherhood is about and trying to stomp on a guy when he's down is really pathetic if you ask me... Guys like you have totally burned me out on this place.

I'm a little curious...If this is the first time we spoke to each other, LegacyDriver, why would you say you've lost all respect for me? Just because I thought you were Skull-1? You even said in those posts I linked to that you have no idea who he is!! Or do you?

 

[LegacyDriver]

I definitely know who he is now. Call me naiive but I had no idea before the thread you alluded to. Of course I know him now that everyone in the world PM'ed me and pointed to all the threads trashing the guy.

I have no respect for people who stir up s*** for the sake of stirring. I do not wish to be used as a foil to lambaste someone I have never met. If you want to trash someone then start your own thread, don't hijack mine.

 

[imr125]

PRIA: FAA or company actions?

Are these letters of Warning/Suspension/Termination from the FAA, Company, or both? What about events such as remedial training? Is the entire employee file, which includes documents regarding additional training, as the result of a background check result, sent off to the prospective employer?

Thanks!

 

[LegacyDriver]

As I understand it, the Company you work for asks for records from BOTH the FAA and your previous employers (five years prior to the date of application). Things that relate to your performance as a *pilot* are included (training records, checkride results, disciplinary action, etc.). Things that are *NOT* related to your performance as a pilot (training contracts, etc.) are not.