The Source for Railroad Injuries & Whistleblower Protection
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…
The largest award under the Federal Rail Safety Act has just been handed down against New Jersey Transit Rail. OSHA’s Whistleblower Office found NJ Transit violated the FRSA by disciplining a worker in retaliation for his reporting an injury, and has ordered the payment of $570,000 in damages to make him whole. This Award is …
The first Federal Rail Safety Act complaint against the Port Authority Trans-Hudson railroad has resulted in an award of punitive damages. The fact pattern is familiar to any railroad worker.
Laura, a Signal Tester, was injured on duty due to defective equipment, and duly reported her injury. But instead of using the incident as…
Here’s another example of what happens when a railroad tries to blame an injured worker instead of taking responsibility for the workplace culture that caused the injury in the first place. Declaring “An employer does not have the right to retaliate against its employees who report work-related injuries,” OSHA’s Whistleblower Office ordered two Illinois railroads…
Here’s a quick look back at some of this year’s notable developments in the rail safety world:
March: FRA bans railroad supervisors from medical examining rooms: click here
June: OSHA’s Whistleblower Office issues $300,000 in punitive damages against Metro North Railroad for violations of the Federal Rail Safety Act FRSA, setting important precedent: click here…
Joe Coleman from Seattle asks whether union reps can be present when a worker gives a statement to a railroad claims agent. The real question is, why would a railroad worker NOT have his union rep present?
No way can there be ever be a level playing field between a claim agent and an injured…
Metro North Railroad’s attempt to exempt itself from punitive damages under the Federal Rail Safety Act has failed. In a case of first impression, an ALJ has just ruled that ALL railroads–including publicly owned commuter railroads–are subject to the FRSA’s punitive damage remedy. Plus, the ALJ is requiring Metro North Railroad to go through the…
Rail union rep Joe Coleman from Seattle has a question about the FELA liability of railroads who contract out work. His General Foreman recently hired subcontractors to band freight car loads that had shifted due to broken banding, and when challenged tried to justify it by arguing that since the subcontractors are self-insured, the railroad…
Talk about sending a message! OSHA has blown the whistle on Metro North Railroad’s culture of retaliation. Big time. No longer do railroad workers have to fear reporting an injury or a safety violation. The days when railroad managers could retaliate with impunity are officially over. Every railroad in the country is now on notice…
The opportunities for railroad supervisors to harass injured workers just keeps getting smaller and smaller. The Federal Railroad Administration has now put a stop to the practice of railroad supervisors accompanying injured employees into medical exam rooms. The FRA issued a Notice of Interpretation declaring it to be a violation of federal regulations for a …