A leading U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has clarified when rail workers can recover damages for outrageous conduct by their employer railroad. Building on two cases that I handled (Metro North Railroad v. Buckley in the U.S. Supreme Court and Higgins v. Metro North Railroad in the Second Circuit), the Second Circuit Court of
Federal Employers Liability Act
Another Nail in the FRSA “Election of Remedies” Coffin
By Charlie Goetsch on
While we await the Administrative Review Board’s official burial notice for the railroads’ bogus “election of remedies” argument, here is another nail in the coffin of that dead Federal Rail Safety Act defense: Thompson v. Norfolk Southern Railway Corp., where yet another Administrative Law Judge explains why “the FRSA does not prevent an individual…
Norfolk Southern Railway’s Gold Medal Turns to Tin
By Charlie Goetsch on
As Yogi Berra would say, “It’s starting to get late early out there” for the Norfolk Southern Railway. OSHA has blown the whistle on NS’s campaign of retaliation against injured workers, and the Federal Rail Safety Act awards and punitive damages just keep piling up.
In the latest, Nelson v. Norfolk Southern Railway, OSHA’s…
Metro North Hit With Highest FRSA Punitive Damages Yet
Once again, OSHA has slammed Metro North Railroad with punitive damages for disregarding the Federal Rail Safety Act rights of its employees. This time it is for using prior injuries to deny promotions, and the resulting punitive damage award is $125,000.
Like many railroads, Metro North has a policy and practice of considering an employee’s…
More FRSA Punitive Damages For Vague Safety Rules
By Charlie Goetsch on
Another railroad has been hit with Federal Rail Safety Act punitive damages for disciplining injured employees based on vague safety rules. This time it’s the Burlington Northern Railroad, who charged a conductor with being "careless of the safety of yourself and others" after he reported an injury. At the disciplinary trial, the charging officer "testified…
FRSA Voids Vague Safety Rules
By Charlie Goetsch on
It’s official. Thanks to the Federal Rail Safety Act, railroads can no longer impose discipline based on vague safety rules that are triggered only when a worker reports an injury.
Every railroad has so-called "safety" rules stating employees must "be alert and attentive" and "take care to prevent injury to themselves" and "when in…
Another Judge Rules FRSA Not Derailed By CBA Appeals
By Charlie Goetsch on
Here’s the latest judicial decision rejecting the bogus "election of remedies" defense railroads continue to raise in Federal Rail Safety Act cases. This one is especially sweet in that it allows a worker to continue her frontal attack against Norfolk Southern Railway’s notorious practice of firing employees who report on duty injuries.
The facts are…
How To Disqualify Unsafe Rail Managers
By Charlie Goetsch on
Are you fed up with rail managers who habitually ignore safety rules and regulations, and then blame the workers who get hurt as a result of management’s unsafe practices? Now you can do something about it. Here’s how to disqualify such managers from ever working in the railroad industry again.
There is a little known…
Supreme Court FELA Ruling Has An Immediate Impact
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Employers Liability Act
Talk about timing. I was on trial in federal court last week in a FELA injury case. The Railroad, no doubt hoping the U.S. Supreme Court would eliminate the FELA’s long standing "even to the slightest degree" causation standard and replace it with the less favorable "proximate cause," had made a low ball offer and asked the…
FRSA’s Power of Preliminary Reinstatement
By Charlie Goetsch on
The Union Pacific Railroad is about to learn the hard way that arrogance is not a defense to the Federal Rail Safety Act.
The FRSA gives OSHA the power to order the “preliminary reinstatement” of an employee with full back pay. The reinstatement goes into immediate effect even if the railroad objects…