§ 108.31 - Employment standards for screening personnel.

(a) No certificate holder shall use any person to perform any screening function, unless that person has:

(1) A high school diploma, a General Equivalency Diploma, or a combination of education and experience which the certificate holder has determined to have equipped the person to perform the duties of the position;

(2) Basic aptitudes and physical abilities including color perception, visual and aural acuity, physical coordination, and motor skills to the following standards:

(i) Screeners operating X-ray equipment must be able to distinguish on the X-ray monitor the appropriate imaging standard specified in the certificate holder's security program. Wherever the X-ray system displays colors, the operator must be able to perceive each color;

(ii) Screeners operating any screening equipment must be able to distinguish each color displayed on every type of screening equipment and explain what each color signifies;

(iii) Screeners must be able to hear and respond to the spoken voice and to audible alarms generated by screening equipment in an active checkpoint environment;

(iv) Screeners performing physical searches or other related operations must be able to efficiently and thoroughly manipulate and handle such baggage, containers, and other objects subject to security processing; and

(v) Screeners who perform pat-downs or hand-held metal detector searches of persons must have sufficient dexterity and capability to conduct those procedures on all parts of the persons’ bodies.

(3) The ability to read, speak, and write English well enough to:

(i) Carry out written and oral instructions regarding the proper performance of screening duties;

(ii) Read English language identification media, credentials, airline tickets, and labels on items normally encountered in the screening process;

(iii) Provide direction to and understand and answer questions from English-speaking persons undergoing screening; and

(iv) Write incident reports and statements and log entries into security records in the English language.

(4) Satisfactorily completed all initial, recurrent, and appropriate specialized training required by the certificate holder's security program.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a)(4) of this section, the certificate holder may use a person during the on-the-job portion of training to perform security functions provided that the person is closely supervised and does not make independent judgments as to whether persons or property may enter a sterile area or aircraft without further inspection.

(c) No certificate holder shall use a person to perform a screening function after that person has failed an operational test related to that function until that person has successfully completed the remedial training specified in the certificate holder's security program.

(d) Each certificate holder shall ensure that a Ground Security Coordinator conducts and documents an annual evaluation of each person assigned screening duties and may continue that person's employment in a screening capacity only upon the determination by that Ground Security Coordinator that the person:

(1) Has not suffered a significant diminution of any physical ability required to perform a screening function since the last evaluation of those abilities;

(2) Has a satisfactory record of performance and attention to duty; and

(3) Demonstrates the current knowledge and skills necessary to courteously, vigilantly, and effectively perform screening functions.

(e) Paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section do not apply to those screening functions conducted outside the United States over which the certificate holder does not have operational control.

(f) At locations outside the United States where the certificate holder has operational control over a screening function, the certificate holder may use screeners who do not meet the requirements of paragraph (a)(3) of this section, provided that at least one representative of the certificate holder who has the ability to functionally read and speak English is present while the certificate holder's passengers are undergoing security processing.