The Source for Railroad Injuries & Whistleblower Protection
Norfolk Southern Railway is showing all of us how to get hit with big Federal Rail Safety Act punitive damages. Here is OSHA’s explanation as to why it awarded record-breaking punitive damages against Norfolk Southern in two recent FRSA cases.
NS Engineer Kintner was fired after reporting an injury due to a tripping hazard in…
Norfolk Southern Railway is learning the hard way that retaliation doesn’t pay. Despite earlier warnings, it has continued its abusive course of conduct toward employees who report injuries. And so today OSHA issued a Press Release confirming record breaking punitive damage awards in three Federal Rail Safety Act cases: $200,000 + $175,000 + $150,000…
The arrogance of rail management never ceases to amaze. The latest example comes from the BNSF, whose General Counsel had the gall to tell OSHA’s Office of Whistleblower Protection that it “must disclose the names of the employee witnesses” OSHA intends to interview so the BNSF can “offer its representation” to those workers and be…
The case of my client Chris Bala established that the FRSA protects ALL railroad workers (not just employees with an on-the-job injury) from attendance discipline when they follow the orders of a treating doctor not to work Why? Because safety trumps discipline. No one wants medically impaired railroad employees reporting to work against their doctor’s…
In an important ruling underscoring OSHA’s commitment to protect rail workers who file Federal Rail Safety Act complaints, OSHA has hit the CSX railroad with the highest award for emotional distress damages yet.
After CSX fired dispatcher Robin Young in connection with a near miss incident, on March 2, 2010, he filed a FRSA complaint…
Important developments in the Federal Rail Safety Act just keep coming. Here are a couple.
OSHA has issued another punitive damages award against Metro North Railroad, this time for harassing an injured employee by interfering with his medical treatment and recovery. The Finding in Cortese v. Metro North Railroad is especially notable because it recognizes…
In an encouraging sign to whistleblowers, the Department of Labor has elevated the status of its Office of the Whistleblower Protection Program (OWPP) so it now reports directly to the Head of OSHA, Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels. This puts whistleblower protection on an equal footing with OSHA’s health and safety enforcement, and increases the…
Instead of naming the railroad, workers are free to name a manager as the defendant in a Federal Rail Safety Act complaint. And there are good reasons for doing so.
When a manager is singled out as illegally retaliating against workers, it is a form of public “shaming” that does not help his future career…
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…
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…