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Island Air
will appeal
pilot lawsuit

The pilot, who has one-eyed
vision, won $1.4 million
in the bias suit

---

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

Aloha Island Air will appeal the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission decision awarding $1.4 million in damages to a Big Island pilot in an employment discrimination case.

The five-member commission ruled Nov. 22 that the interisland airline illegally discriminated against Bruce Pied because he is unable to see out of his left eye. The commission found that, with Federal Aviation Administration certification and experience flying the aircraft used by Island Air, the pilot was qualified for the job that he was denied.

Airline spokeswoman Julie King said the company will appeal the decision to the Circuit Court. She declined further comment.

Pied, 48, is flying a 747 cargo jet on international flights, said his attorney, David Simons. He got his pilot's license in 1987 and had flown tour flights, as well as commercial passenger flights, for Samoa Air before he applied in 1990 to Aloha Island Air. In Samoa, he piloted DeHavilland Dash 6 twin-propeller aircraft similar to those used by the Hawaii airline, Simons said.

"Once the Federal Aviation Administration has certified him as a pilot, it's not up to Aloha Island Air to decide," the attorney said.

William Hoshijo, executive director of the Civil Rights Commission, said the airline's action "was precisely the kind of discrimination that our laws are meant to address." He spoke at a news conference with Simons and the commission's senior enforcement attorney, Cheryl Tipton.

Tipton said that in an earlier deposition, an airline official said there was a policy not to hire a pilot with monocular (one-eyed) vision. Later testimony was that the requirement was for 20/20 vision.

The commissioners found the airline's testimony "less than credible," Hoshijo said.

In 1994, the airline went to federal court to block the commission from acting, claiming the federal Airline Deregulation Act overrode state discrimination law. In 1997, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an earlier ruling by U.S. District Judge Samuel King, saying safety matters were separate from deregulation law.

Simons said the award reflects loss of income for 10 years. The award, the largest ever ordered by the commission, included $567,228 for back pay, $471,435 for lost earning capacity, $150,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages.

Pied would still like to work for Island Air, Simons said, as the best opportunity to work where he lives and be near his children.

He compared his client to American League pitcher Jim Abbott, who "was an all-star despite having only one arm. It's one of the preconceived notions that people have" that a disability limits ability, he said.

In a news release, Pied said, "I hope the commission's order will tell everyone that what counts in Hawaii is a person's ability to get the job done, and will encourage other people with disabilities to keep working to overcome the obstacles they face when they try to advance their career."