Air Traffic Automation Personnel Sue FAA for Fraud and Breach of Contract.

Business Editors

UNIONDALE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2000

More than 70 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration have filed suit against the agency as a result of continuing broken promises that have unfairly shut them out of pay increases obtained by other FAA employees.

According to the plaintiffs' attorney, Kathleen Tomlinson of Farrell Fritz, P.C., the FAA misled a group of employees, convincing them that transferring into a newly-formed "Operational Support Service" within the FAA would still entitle them to participate in the FAA's pay reform.

"These men and woman are being used as pawns in a budgetary chess game where the players not only write their own rules, but change them at will," said Tomlinson. "Senior FAA management promised, in writing, that transfer to the new division `will not adversely impact the grade, series or career path of incumbent Air Traffic personnel.' Then, when a pay reform program was initiated in the FAA, those employees who transferred were left out in the cold. This is a clear case of breach of contract, unjust enrichment and fraud. We simply want the FAA to live up to its promises -- to include these employees in pay reform, and provide back pay and damages."

In July 1991, the FAA announced the establishment of a new operational support service, AOS, that was to be the primary provider of integrated hardware and software engineering support to other services within the FAA. Prior to July 1, 1994, most of the plaintiffs were employed within the Air Traffic division of the FAA, managing the development, maintenance and support of the automated air traffic control systems and software maintenance.

The FAA's 1994 Transition Plan and later documents clearly stated that "personnel compensation and benefits, including locality pay, 5 percent pay for Air Traffic Controllers, associated pay raises and annualization will be transferred for all personnel selected from the GS-2152 series." Based on these, the first group of air traffic automation specialists accepted the transfer.

But when a new contract with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association was negotiated, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey announced that ATCS 2152 non-union personnel who transferred out of the Air Traffic division would not be included.

"These men and women, whose expertise is critically important to safe air travel, were promised equal footing, and they had a right to it," said Tomlinson. "That the FAA lured them to switch jobs with promises they had no intention of keeping is not only inequitable, but unconscionable."

Kathleen Tomlinson is a partner in the Uniondale, Long Island-based law firm, Farrell Fritz. Her commercial litigation practice focuses on employment, technology and intellectual property issues. Farrell Fritz is one of the region's largest law firms, and is highly respected for its experienced handling of a wide array of matters, including corporate, banking, municipal, health care, tax, real estate, tax certiorari, environmental, land use, commercial litigation, bankruptcy and creditors' rights, employment and trusts and estates.