Category: Washington
OSHA raps UP again for whistleblower violation
Once again, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered a railroad to reinstate an employee and pay him back wages for violating an employee’s rights as a whistleblower. In the latest OSHA order, Union Pacific was ordered i [...]House Republicans vow to head-off rail strike
WASHINGTON – Senior House Republicans Nov. 29 said they would act to head off a railroad work stoppage if rail unions that so far have not settled with the carriers do not have a voluntary settlement in place by the end of a final 30-day cooling off period that expires Dec. 6 [...]
Bus driver cell-phone ban finalized
WASHINGTON – A Final Rule has been issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) prohibiting bus (including school bus) drivers and truck drivers, operating in interstate commerce, from using hand-held cell phone while operating their vehicles. Also innclu [...]Congress OKs Amtrak, air, bus, transit funding
WASHINGTON — Congress, unable to agree on very much lately, has agreed on funding for Amtrak, bus transportation, commercial aviation and transit through Sept. 30, 2012. The funding is for fiscal year 2012, which began Oct. 1. Earlier, Congress agreed to legislation extending [...]
FRA safety advisory on shoving movements
WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration, in response to inquiries about when it is permissible for an employee directing the movement to operate a motor vehicle in the context of a pushing or shoving movement, has issued the following advisory: The central concern in [...]FAA reauthorization: A Sisyphean struggle
WASHINGTON – For more than four years, Congress has attempted, unsuccessfully, to pass a long-term commercial aviation funding bill to modernize airports and the national’s air traffic control system. Two sticking points this year in reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Ad [...]
Conductor certification now a reality
WASHINGTON – It’s now official. Conductor certification, mandated by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, became effective Jan. 1. In a final rule, published by the Federal Railroad Administration Nov. 9, railroads were ordered to implement, by Jan. 1, a formal trai [...]UP lone “revenue adequate” railroad for 2010
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has determined that only one major railroad – Union Pacific – was “revenue adequate” in calendar year 2010. A railroad is considered “revenue adequate” if it achieves a rate of return on net investment equal to at least the c [...]