covered facility
(1) Consideration of applicants.— (A) Ensuring selection of most qualified applicants .— In appointing individuals to the position of air traffic controller, the Administrator shall give preferential consideration to qualified individuals maintaining 52 consecutive weeks of air traffic control experience involving the full-time active separation of air traffic after receipt of an air traffic certification or air traffic control facility rating within 5 years of application while serving at— (i) a Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control facility; (ii) a civilian or military air traffic control facility of the Department of Defense (including a facility of the National Guard); or (iii) a tower operating under contract with the Federal Aviation Administration under section 47124. (B) Consideration of additional applicants.— (i) In general .— After giving preferential consideration to applicants under subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall consider additional applicants for the position of air traffic controller by giving further preferential consideration, within each qualification category based upon pre-employment testing results (including application of veterans’ preference as required under section 40122(g)(2)(B) ), to pool 1 applicants described in clause (ii) before pool 2 applicants described in clause (iii). (ii) Pool 1 .— Pool 1 applicants are individuals who— (I) have successfully completed air traffic controller training and graduated from an institution participating in the Collegiate Training Initiative program maintained under subsection (c)(1) and who have received from the institution— (aa) an appropriate recommendation; or (bb) an endorsement certifying that the individual would have met the requirements in effect as of December 31, 2013 , for an appropriate recommendation; (II) are eligible for a veterans recruitment appointment pursuant to section 4214 of title 38 and provide a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty within 120 days of the announcement closing; (III) are eligible veterans (as defined in section 4211 of title 38 ) maintaining aviation experience obtained in the course of the individual’s military experience; or (IV) are preference eligible veterans (as defined in section 2108 of title 5 ). (iii) Pool 2 .— Pool 2 applicants are individuals who apply under a vacancy announcement recruiting from all United States citizens. (C) Special rule.— (i) In general .— Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), after giving preferential consideration to applicants under subparagraph (A) and if, after consulting with the labor organization recognized as the exclusive representative of air traffic controllers under section 7111 of title 5 , the Administrator determines there are unique circumstances affecting a covered facility that warrant a vacancy announcement with a limited area of consideration, the Administrator may consider applicants for the position of air traffic controller who apply under a vacancy announcement recruiting from the local commuting area for that covered facility. (ii) Biographical assessments .— The Administrator shall not use any biographical assessment with respect to an applicant under this subparagraph who would otherwise qualify as a Pool 1 applicant under subparagraph (B)(ii). (iii) Covered facility defined .— In this subparagraph the term “covered facility” means a radar facility with at least 1,000,000 operations annually that is located in a metropolitan statistical area (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget) with a population estimate by the Bureau of the Census of more than 15,000,000 (as of July 1, 2016 ).