After a supervisor for the Utah Transit Authority was fired for raising safety concerns, OSHA’s Whistleblower Office ordered him reinstated with over $150,000 in make whole economic damages. In refusing to dismiss that case, an ALJ has ruled that the FRSA protects any employee who raises safety concerns, even supervisors on an intrastate commuter railroad
Railroad Whistleblower
Railroads Barred From Basing Discipline On FRSA Complaints
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act
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…
FRSA Alert! DOL Issues Major New FRSA Regulations
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act
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 Disastrous Result of Railroads’ Reflexive Appeal of FRSA Awards
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act
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…
Library of Federal Rail Safety Act Materials Goes Online!
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act
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,…
Federal Rail Safety Act Retainer Agreements
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act
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…
DOL Agrees RLA Does Not Preclude FRSA
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act
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…
FRSA Prohibits Discipline For Following Treating Doctor’s Orders
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act
Here’s more confirmation that an injured railroad worker cannot be disciplined for following his treating doctor’s orders. Under the Federal Rail Safety Act, railroads are strictly prohibited from "denying, delaying, or interfering" with the medical treatment plan of a treating doctor. In a recent Award, OSHA found that PATH Rail violated the FRSA when…
Another Judge Rejects Rail Management’s Bogus FRSA Defense
By Charlie Goetsch on
Railroads are losing their campaign to gut the Federal Rail Safety Act by claiming that the Railway Labor Act precludes rail workers from invoking FRSA protection. In a resounding well-reasoned decision, Administrative Law Judge Richard A. Morgan explains that Congress enacted the FRSA "to allow employees to attempt to vindicate their rights using multiple means"…
NJ Transit Rail Worker Wins Historic $570,000 FRSA Award
By Charlie Goetsch on
Posted in Federal Rail Safety Act
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 …