The Source for Railroad Injuries & Whistleblower Protection
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In a case of first impression, a federal court holds the only statue of limitation that applies to Federal Rail Safety Act whistleblower cases is the 180 day window following an adverse action, and that no other statute of limitation applies to the filing of a de novo complaint in federal court.
In Gary Despain…
What are the guideposts for determining the amount of punitive damages in Federal Rail Safety Act cases? According to the 10th Circuit’s decision in BNSF Railway Company v. US DOL ARB [Cain], there are three guideposts whose application is informed by the text of Section 20109:
The first and most important indicator of the reasonableness
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It is important to know when the 180 window for filing a Federal Rail Safety Act complaint opens. This is from OSHA’s Summary explaining its Final Rules for FRSA cases:
To be timely, a complaint must be filed with OSHA within 180 days of when the alleged violation occurs. This is considered to be when
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In the landmark decision of Santiago v. Metro North Railroad, the Administrative Review Board held that Federal Rail Safety Act “Section 20109(c)(1) bars a railroad from denying, delaying, or interfering with an employee’s medical treatment throughout the period of treatment and recovery from a work injury.” The Administrative Review Board also held that a…
In a rare en banc decision, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board explains why the Federal Rail Safety Act’s distinct two step burden of proof process must never be merged into one. Powers v. Union Pacific Railroad Company also is significant for reminding us that the subjective evaluations of railroad managers carry virtually…
In recent Federal Rail Safety Act developments, the 8th Circuit tries its hand at Section 20109 model jury instructions, and the Administrative Review Board underscores some key points of proof.
Jury Instructions
In addition to the battle tested Section 20109 jury instructions in Barati v. Metro North Railroad and Brig v. PATH, the 8th…