FAA Contractor Off Hook In Worker Privacy Suit

A New Jersey federal judge ruled Tuesday that government contractor Magellan Health Services Inc. didn't violate the federal Right to Privacy Act when it informed the Federal Aviation Administration about an FAA employee's alleged drinking problems, saying the act applies only to federal agencies.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Rodriguez tossed Magellan from Robert Repetto's lawsuit, saying the company's status as a FAA contractor isn't enough to bring it under the civil remedies provision of the Right to Privacy Act.

"The fact that federal agencies are the exclusive subjects of every statutory provision strongly suggests that Congress only intended the Privacy Act to apply to such agencies and not to private individuals, and the case law interpreting the scope of the civil remedies provision is consistent with this plain reading analysis," Judge Rodriguez said.