Whether 49 U.S.C. § 44092(b) preempts 42 U.S.C. § 1981 claims

QUESTIONS PRESENTED 49 U.S.C. § 44092(b) provides that an air carrier “may refuse to transport a passenger or property the carrier decides is, or might be, inimical to safety.” 49 U.S.C. § 40127(a) provides that an air carrier “may not subject a person in air transportation to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or ancestry.” Under current case law, the protections of 42 US.C. § 1981 are effectively unavailable to victims of discrimination who fly commercially, owing to judge-made limitations created interpreting 49 U.S.C. § 44092(b). The questions presented are: 1. Is 49 US.C. § 44092(b) inapplicable to 42 U.S.C. § 1981 cases? 2. Should the “cat’s paw” analysis of Staub v. Proctor Hosp., 562 U.S. 411 (2011) be applied to 42 U.S.C. § 1981 cases where a pilot acts without further inquiry on reports from subordinates motivated by discrimination?