The long wait is over. The Administrative Review Board has officially laid the railroad’s bogus “election of remedies” defense to rest. In Mercier v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the ARB has declared once and for all that rail workers are entitled to simultaneously pursue their rights under the Federal Rail Safety Act while also
Railroad Retaliation
New OSHA Whistleblower Manual Issued
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act
OSHA’s Whistleblower Office has issued a revised and updated Whistleblower Investigations Manual that applies to complaints under the Federal Rail Safety Act. The Manual explains the process from start to finish, and workers and attorneys will find it useful to orient themselves as to the steps involved in FRSA complaints.
Two points of…
FRSA Bars Discipline For “Late” Injury Reporting
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act
It’s one of the hoariest acts in the railroad repertoire of retaliation: first, invent rules setting an arbitrary deadline for the reporting of injuries, and then use the threat of discipline under those rules to discourage the reporting of injuries. Classic examples of absurd reporting rules are Metro North Railroad’s “all injuries must be…
Flurry Of FRSA Awards A Glimpse Of The Future
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act
There has been a flurry of Federal Rail Safety Act decisions in the past few weeks, all positive for workers, and all demonstrating a trend toward higher punitive damage awards.
Pfeifer v. Union Pacific Railroad concerns retaliation against a conductor who reported safety hazards. After he reported rough spots on the railroad track, he was…
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…
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…
A Salute to the Memory of Rail Union Rep Roger Lenfest
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act
This entry honors the memory of Roger M. Lenfest, Jr., a courageous rail labor leader who has left us too soon. Roger’s railroad career spanned 40 years, most recently as a United Transportation Union General Chairman representing conductors on various carriers. But Roger’s defining moment as a union rep came in 1985, when he was…
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…