OSHA’s Whistleblower Office has slammed Metro North Railroad with punitive damages for using a Federal Rail Safety Act complaint as a basis for disciplining a worker. After a laborer at Metro North’s New Haven Shop filed a FRSA complaint, the Railroad charged the worker with “Conduct unbecoming a Metro-North employee in that you filed a
Metro-North Railroad
$1.1 Million FELA Settlement Vindicates Burned Metro North Worker
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Employers Liability Act
Teddy Roosevelt would be proud. 102 years after he signed the original rail safety statute into law, the Federal Employers Liability Act is still doing its job: exposing the unsafe practices of railroads and holding railroads accountable for the employee injuries that result.
The sad truth is, rail managers habitually ignore their own responsibility for…
Metro North Railroad and LIRR Beware!
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Railroad Injuries
The civil penalties for discrimination just got steeper and more painful for Metro North Railroad and Long Island Railroad. Metro North and LIRR now are subject to new penalties of up to $100,000 for violations of New York State’s Human Rights Law. N.Y. Exec. Law Section 290 et seq.
New York’s law prohibits discrimination…
Railroads Beware! Refusal to Cooperate Risks Devastating Adverse Inference
By Charlie Goetsch on
Q: What is the quickest way for a railroad to end up with a punitive damages Order against it?
A: Refuse to cooperate with an OSHA Federal Railroad Safety Act investigation.
Some railroads have decided to play cute with OSHA by refusing to produce documents on the ground that the FRSA does not give OSHA…