Train Law Blog : Railroad Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Cahill Goetsch & Perry Law Firm : Railway Worker Injuries & Accidents

The truth is always refreshing, especially when it comes from an unexpected source. Veteran rail manager David L. Gunn was hired by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) Board of Directors to tell them how to improve safety on the DC subway system. His conclusion? "End the 'shoot the messenger' culture at all levels of the organization" and thereby "Create a workplace where safety is openly discussed, problems are reported and solved, and all employees, supervisors, and managers know they can ask for help without fear." Here is the Press Release.

Wow. Ending the "shoot the messenger" culture is precisely why Congress recently passed the NTSSA and FRSA  laws, to ensure that subway and rail workers who raise safety concerns are protected from retaliation.

And now enlightened rail managers are admitting the truth: management's blame the messenger mentality not only discourages employees from raising safety concerns, it actually perpetuates the systemic problems that cause injuries in the first place. So the way to increase rail safety is not to shoot the employee who reports an injury or hazard, but to focus on correcting the root causes of the problem. And any rail managers who persist in their old ways now will be held accountable under the NTSSA and FRSA.

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Starting in March, commuter rail cars must be built with stronger front-end frames to better protect passengers during collisions. click here This is good news, but underscores the importance of avoiding collisions in the first place. How? Rail workers are the eyes and ears of safety on the tracks. If they hestitate to raise safety concerns for fear of management retaliation, we all are at risk. But two new laws protect railroad workers (FRSA) and subway workers (NTSSA) who raise safety concerns. Enlightened railroads should spread the word among their employees and welcome any and all safety "complaints." For the sake of rail safety, railroads have got to stop treating such workers as malcontents worthy of retaliation. And if workers invoke their protections under the FRSA and NTSSA, that will begin to happen.

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In response to last summer's fatal Metro subway crash in Washington DC, Congress now is proposing to extend federal rail safety standards to subway and light-rail lines currently "regulated" by understaffed local safety personnel wielding toothless rules. See NY Times Editorial. This would be a great step forward in ensuring the safety of the commuting public. But there is a little known law already on the books that if put to proper use will be a powerful tool to ensure subway safety.

The National Transit Systems Security Act (NTSSA) is a new whistleblower law that protects subway workers who report hazardous safety conditions. The NTSSA prohibits subways from retaliating or discriminating in any way against employees who report unsafe conditions or any fraud and waste of funds. And if the subway does retaliate, the NTSSA's remedies include reinstatement, back pay, compensatory damages, and up to $250,000 in punitive damages.

So one way to ensure the ongoing safety of subway systems is for employees to vigorously exercise and enforce their new rights under the NTSSA. But this has yet to happen. For example, OSHA's Region II Whistleblower Office confirms that the single largest group of subway workers in the nation, the nearly 40,000 members of TWU Local 100 who work for the MTA NYC Transit Authority, have generated a mere handful of NTSSA complaints. Given the size and history of the NYC subway and bus system, this can only mean the rank and file workers are unaware of their new rights under the NTSSA. Those workers are the eyes and ears of safety in the subway. Something must be done to raise their awareness and encourage them to speak out whenever they see a safety hazard.

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