The Source for Railroad Injuries & Whistleblower Protection
Case law is beginning to clarify punitive damages under the Federal Rail Safety Act. Such damages are based on a railroad’s callous indifference toward the FRSA rights of its employees. Here is some conduct justifying the imposition of FRSA punitive damages:
…
Strange as it sounds, a railroad manager can have a valid reason for taking disciplinary action against an employee and still be in violation of the FRSA. How? Because the employee’s protected activity in reporting an injury,raising a safety concern, or following a treating doctor’s orders was a “contributing factor” to the action.
The FRSA …
OSHA’s Whistleblower Office will never approve a Federal Rail Safety Act settlement that includes confidentiality. Why? Because the FRSA is supposed to remedy the chilling effects of retaliatory actions, not lock them in. And in the railroad grapevine, no retaliatory action goes unnoticed. When employees see a co-worker hammered after raising safety, injury, or fraud…
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
…
As of August 31, 2010, the Federal Rail Safety Act has its own set of regulations setting forth the requirements and procedures for every aspect of FRSA litigation, including the filing of complaints, OSHA investigations, appeals to ALJ de novo hearings, review by the ARB, and optional federal court jury trials. You can access the…
The first two stages of grief are denial and anger. And when it comes to the Federal Rail Safety Act, railroads still are deeply mired in denial and anger. As a result, any time OSHA’s Whistleblower Office hands down a FRSA award against a railroad, the railroad reacts with angry denial and automatically appeals…
Rail labor attorneys, union reps, employees, and even OSHA Whistleblower investigators: Your search is ended! Everything you need to know about the Federal Rail Safety Act is now in one easy place. In response to numerous requests, I have created a web page entitled Rail Whistleblower Library.
This is a repository for information, texts, forms,…
The Federal Rail Safety Act (FRSA) is a new statute with many novel questions, not the least of which is: what should the Retainer Agreement provide? Unlike FELA personal injury claims where pure contingency fee agreements are well-established, the FRSA is a different animal, with a statutory fee-shifting provision and a wide spectrum of potential…
The bogus "election of remedies" defense to Federal Rail Safety Act claims raised by railroads just took a major hit. Yesterday the Department of Labor filed an appellate Brief confirming that a railroad worker who pursues a grievance or arbitration under the Railway Labor Act is not thereby precluded from simultaneously pursuing a FRSA whistleblower protection claim. Noting that "retaliation and…