It is because of today's challenges in aviation safety and employee oversight that FAA Managers have increased professional and personal liability exposures. For FAA managers, Professional Liability Insurance (PLI) is necessary due to new policy changes, politically charged responses, and accountability demands for the decisions made before, during and after each new FAA-related incident.

Professional liability protection is recommended to and sought out by FAA managers should the outcomes of these decisions and challenges lead to an OIG, Accountability Board Investigation, an Office of Security Investigation, an Office of Special Counsel complaint/investigation, or a Congressional investigation and/or proposed disciplinary action.

In addition to FAA incident related matters, common allegations of wrongdoing against federal managers and executives resulting in investigations include: EEO complaints, management investigations, OIG or OSC investigations/complaints, or complaints from the public.  Find out why EEO is included in this list.

Assuming these matters will be automatically dismissed or defended against by your agency is a common misconception. Defending against allegations of misconduct or other wrongdoing is difficult and in many cases requires managers and executives to hire and pay for outside legal counsel - even if the allegation is ultimately disproved.

Please see scenarios of actual cases and read the Administrative Exposures for additional information regarding FAA administrative and disciplinary matters. For coverage effective immediately, you can purchase PLI now.

Having an attorney experienced in federal matters to advise you of your legal rights and obligations and also the parameters of the law under which you've been accused is imperative in the initial investigative stages. Access to an attorney would also:

• defend against allegations;
• prepare you for the agency administration or investigation process;
• attend the investigative interview with you; and
• defend you in any resulting disciplinary action (both at the agency level and at the MSPB).

FEDS panel of attorneys has successfully defended federal managers and executives in a variety of investigations and disciplinary cases. Most of the managers and supervisors represented never thought this would happen to them. Some had professional liability insurance in place and some didn't.

Investigations and proposed disciplinary actions can happen to the innocent—and even the most well intended civil servant can unknowingly or unintentionally commit a violation, a civil service or other law, rule or regulation. If it happens to you, having liability insurance will ensure that a complete legal defense is not cost prohibitive.

FAA Managers can also be exposed to civil suits and criminal investigations, albeit at a much lesser degree than the administrative exposures. These civil suits are typically called Bivens actions and the DOJ has the discretion as to whether or not it will defend you in a personal capacity lawsuit arising out of your scope of employment. A federal employee can be investigated criminally for even the most trivial matters and false allegations. See Civil Exposures and Criminal Exposures for additional information about these exposures.

These things do happen to good managers and supervisors - and if it happens to you without insurance, you must get and pay for legal representation. A former federal executive had this to say about liability insurance: 'the potential liability is not so much the risk of a Bivens-type judgment, but the extraordinary cost of legal representation to defend civil suits, allegations of misconduct, or unfounded ethics complaints'.  Read testimonials and endorsements. 

These are also the very reasons that Congress enacted special legislation requiring agencies to reimburse all managers and supervisors up to ½ of the cost of professional liability insurance. This congressional action clearly demonstrates Congress’ official support and belief that managers and supervisors have a sense of security while making the tough decisions that are part of the job. With annual costs at $270 and a net cost of only $135 a year after reimbursement for our minimum coverage limit, there is no reason not to have career and financial security protections in place.

FEDS continually works with the FAA Managers Association (FAAMA) to ensure that we provide the protection needed to do your job. Maneuvering the investigative process without legal counsel is not recommended by FAAMA and other leading manager associations and law firms representing federal employees. Please read what these associations and other industry leaders have to say about professional protection and why they endorse FEDS over all other professional liability carriers in testimonials and endorsements.

FEDS founder is a former federal employee who has defended federal employees in private practice. He encourages all federal employees to be as informed as possible about the benefits of having PLI protection in place. Read more about how and why FEDS got started here. And if you can't find answers to your questions in FAQ's, please call us at 301-229-2481.