The Source for Railroad Injuries & Whistleblower Protection
Two recent decisions, one from a federal district court and the other from the Administrative Review Board, reject several of the defenses railroads have raised against Federal Rail Safety Act whistleblower retaliation cases.
Adding a FRSA Count to an FELA Complaint is Allowed
In Battenfield v BNSF Railway Company, Burlington Northern failed to prevent…
A federal district court has ruled that a General Release for a Federal Employers Liability Act personal injury does not also release a pending Federal Rail Safety Act complaint. In Tagliatela v. Metro North Railroad, 2012 U.S.Dist LEXIS 161835 (D.Conn. Nov. 13, 2012), custodian Ralph Tagliatela was disciplined for the “late reporting” of an…
In a decision that will send shock waves reverberating throughout the railroad industry, railroad medical departments now are prohibited from doing anything that directly or indirectly interferes with the treatment prescribed by an injured worker’s treating doctor for the entire period of medical treatment, not just immediately after an injury. Once again, thanks to…
In a major decision clarifying the scope of the Federal Rail Safety Act, OSHA confirms that a railroad’s denial, delay, or interference with an injured employee’s medical treatment constitutes adverse action recoverable under FRSA Section (a)(4). Section (a)(4) protects employees from adverse action due to the reporting of a work-related injury, and OSHA now…
No matter what a railroad may try to tell you, a Federal Rail Safety Act claim under OSHA jurisdiction cannot be settled without the express written approval of OSHA. Here’s why.
The FRSA itself states: “The rights and remedies in this section may not be waived by any agreement . . .” 49 USC 20109(h).
The damages for violations of the Federal Rail Safety Act just keep expanding. The latest record breaker goes against the Union Pacific Railroad: $175,000 in punitive damages and $100,000 for emotional distress, all for firing a conductor who reported a minor injury.
In addition to the immediate reinstatement, lost wages, and attorney fees ordered,…
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…
Add this to the growing chorus of judicial voices shouting down the bogus "election of remedies" defense raised by railroads. In a cogent decision, Judge Berlin confirms that Federal Rail Safety Act complaints are independent of Railway Labor Act disciplinary proceedings and cannot be derailed by a RLA award reinstating an employee with back pay.
Here are the facts.
Federal Rail Safety Act Section 20109(c)(1) prohibits railroads from "deny[ing], delay[ing] or interfer[ing] with the medical or first aid treatment of an employee who is injured during the course of employment." In the first case to interpret the meaning of (c)(1), OSHA took the position the scope of that prohibition goes beyond initial medical treatment.
Another Judge has ruled that the Railway Labor Act does not preclude Federal Rail Safety Act actions. To quote from the second post-trial ALJ FRSA decision to be handed down:
The reach of the RLA is limited to disputes involving the interpretation or application of existing labor agreements. It does not address allegations or
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