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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – BNSF Railway Co. has been found in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for disciplining an employee at its Murray Yard complex for following a physician’s treatment plan. The company has been ordered to pay the conductor $12,000 in damages, remove disciplinary information from the employee’s personnel record and provide whistleblower rights information to its employees.

“It is illegal to discipline an employee for following doctor’s orders,” said Marcia P. Drumm, OSHA’s acting regional administrator in Kansas City. “Workers should never be forced to choose between their health and facing disciplinary action. Whistleblower protections play an important role in keeping workplaces safe.”

OSHA’s investigation upheld the allegation that the railroad company disciplined the conductor, who has been employed there since 2004, in retaliation for taking leave in line with a doctor’s treatment plan. The employee was ill and notified a supervisor that he was seeing a doctor the afternoon of Nov. 18, 2013. Following his doctor’s appointment, the conductor immediately notified a supervisor that the doctor had ordered him to stay out of work for the remainder of the day, due to a personal illness. The company then accused the employee of violating its attendance policy and subsequently disciplined the employee.

BNSF Railway has been ordered to pay $2,000 in compensatory and $10,000 in punitive damages, as well as reasonable attorney’s fees. Any of the parties in this case can file an appeal with the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.

OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, worker safety, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime and securities laws.

Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government. Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor to request an investigation by OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program. Detailed information on employee whistleblower rights, including fact sheets, is available at http://www.whistleblowers.gov.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Tags BNSF, OSHA

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the coordination and cooperation between the agencies regarding the anti-retaliation provision of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA). The Memorandum allows for the exchange of safety, coercion and retaliation allegations, when received by one agency, that fall under the authority of the other.

The STAA protects drivers and other individuals working for commercial motor carriers from retaliation for reporting or engaging in activities related to certain commercial motor vehicle safety, health or security conditions.

“This strengthened partnership with OSHA extends our inter-agency collaboration specifically to include the sharing of reports of alleged coercion – companies forcing or intimidating truck or bus drivers to violate federal safety regulations,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “Pressuring drivers to stay behind the wheel beyond their hours-of-service limits, or to disregard other federal safety rules, seriously jeopardizes the safety of every traveler on our highways and roads. Commercial truck and bus companies that knowingly endanger the motoring public, or retaliate against whistleblowing employees, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Commercial vehicle drivers who report injuries, hazards and illegal work practices should not fear retaliation for speaking out about unsafe work conditions,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Through this agreement, we are sending a clear message that silencing workers who try to do the right thing is unacceptable for workers and also unsafe for the public.”

FMCSA and OSHA each play a specialized role in protecting the safety of commercial drivers and of the motoring public. OSHA investigates employee complaints of retaliation by commercial truck and bus companies. FMCSA is responsible for regulating both industries and – along with its state law enforcement partners – ensuring company and driver compliance with federal safety regulations, including driver on-duty and driving time limits to prevent fatigue, commercial driver’s licenses rules, medical qualifications, drug and alcohol testing, hazardous materials safety standards and others.

In the last nine years, OSHA has processed more than 2,800 cases under STAA. Recently, OSHA ordered an Iowa waste removal company to reinstate a driver and pay the employee more than $123,000 in compensation after the company terminated the driver for raising safety concerns over company routes that violated U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, potentially causing serious injury to the worker, co-workers or the public. For more information on that case, read the press release at: https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=25905.

Under the MOU, FMCSA will refer employees who complain of retaliation to OSHA, and OSHA will provide FMCSA with copies of complaints filed and findings issued under STAA. The agencies will report to each other annually on information shared during the previous year. The MOU also provides that FMCSA will process OSHA requests for information from various FMCSA databases.

The public, commercial drivers, motor carriers and other industry members may file a safety, service or discrimination complaint against a household goods moving company, bus or truck company, including hazardous materials hauler or a cargo tank facility, by calling toll free 1-888-DOT-SAFT (1-888-368-7238) from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, Eastern Time. Complaints may also be submitted through FMCSA’s National Consumer Complaint website at: http://nccdb.fmcsa.dot.gov.

FMCSA was established as a separate administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000, pursuant to the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999. Its primary mission is to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. For more information on FMCSA’s safety programs and activities, visit www.fmcsa.dot.gov.

OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various workplace, commercial motor vehicle, airline, nuclear, pipeline, environmental, railroad, public transportation, maritime, consumer product, motor vehicle safety, health care reform, corporate securities, food safety and consumer financial reform regulations. Additional information is available at: http://www.whistleblowers.gov.

Tags FMCSA, OSHA

Unknown It is getting hotter throughout the country. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched a National Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Workers. Each year, thousands of workers experience heat-related illnesses and many even die working in the heat. This is preventable. That is why we need your help in raising awareness about the issues and resources available from OSHA.

Learn more and find our educational and training resources to download free in both Spanish and English at www.osha.gov/heat.

OSHA’s smartphone application calculates the heat index based on your current location, gets a risk level, and provides recommendations to prevent heat illness. Join the 130,000 others taking steps to prevent illness and download the app today.

This year we are focusing on acclimatization, the physical change that the body undergoes to build tolerance to the heat. To acclimatize, workers should get used to hot environments by gradually increasing exposure by taking frequent breaks for water and rest in the shade. During a rapid change in excessively hot weather, even experienced workers need time to acclimatize.

OSHA has found that in recent years, the lack of acclimatization led to serious heat illness or death in 74 percent of OSHA citations. Heat illness prevention programs, which can help prevent illness and death, were absent or missing elements such as acclimatization or providing potable water. New and temporary workers are even more at risk for heat-related illnesses.

Please help spread the word however you can by Tweeting or posting on Facebook using #WaterRestShade (OSHA has sample posts in its new Social Media Toolkit), or by speaking and sharing resources with your friends, family, coworkers, employees, employers and community members.

Workers have the right to a safe workplace. The OSH Act protects workers who complain to their employer, OSHA, or other government agencies about unsafe or unhealthful working conditions or environmental problems.

If a worker has been punished or discriminated against for using his or her rights, such as raising health and safety concerns including those related to excessive heat, or filing a complaint, he or she must file a complaint with OSHA within 30 days.

For other valuable worker protection information, such as Workers’ Rights, Employer Responsibilities, and other services OSHA offers, visit the OSHA Workers’ Page.

Tags 2014 Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Workers, heat index, OSHA

DENVER – Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway has been ordered to pay more than $526,000 in back wages and other damages to two workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA found that the company, based in Fort Worth, Texas, was in violation of the whistleblower provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act for terminating the employees in 2010 and 2011 for reporting a workplace injury that occurred at the company’s Havre, Mont., terminal.

“An employer cannot retaliate against employees who report an injury,” said Gregory Baxter, OSHA’s regional administrator in Denver. “OSHA recognizes that employers can legitimately have, and apply, policies to require prompt injury reporting; however, that is not what happened here. When employers mask their retaliatory intent through application of a policy or rule, they violate the law.”

The former employees submitted complaints to OSHA alleging violations of the anti-retaliation provisions of the FRSA. Because of these complaints, OSHA conducted an investigation and determined that the reporting of the work-related injury was a factor in each former employee’s termination, which is a direct violation of the FRSA. Burlington Northern has been ordered to pay back wages with interest, compensatory damages and attorney’s fees, while reinstating and expunging the two employees’ work records.

The reporting of an injury, regardless of an employer’s policy or deadline, is a protected activity under well-established law. The railway carrier failed to demonstrate that it would have taken the same unfavorable personnel action in the absence of the behavior protected by the FRSA.

Burlington Northern or the complainant may file objections or request a hearing before the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges within 30 days of receipt of OSHA’s order. OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA and 21 other statutes, protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, worker safety, public transportation agency, maritime and securities laws.

Tags BNSF Railway, OSHA, whistleblower

A Canadian National Railway conductor who says he was wrongfully fired in 2013 could be getting his job back.

“This was a whistleblower lawsuit because I was singled out and wrongfully terminated,” Wayne Laidler said. “I felt it was important to pursue the case to bring to light the way corporate America treats their employees. The company, they shoot first and ask questions later. I wanted to make sure this doesn’t happen to any other employees in the future.”

Read the complete story at The Times Herald.

Tags OSHA, whistleblower

CHICAGO – Grand Trunk Western Railroad Co. has been ordered to reinstate a conductor and pay him more than $244,000 in back wages and damages following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA found that the company was in violation of the whistleblower provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act for terminating an employee in Flint, Mich., for failing to perform an inspection of a passing train under hazardous safety conditions.

“When employees are disciplined for legally choosing not to conduct work tasks in unsafe environments, worker safety and health are clearly not the company’s priority,” said Nick Walters, OSHA’s regional administrator in Chicago. “Whistleblower protections play an important role in keeping workplaces safe. Workers should never be forced to choose between safe work practices and keeping their job.”

Grand Trunk Western Railway, a subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway, has been ordered to pay the conductor $99,324 in back wages and benefits, less applicable employment taxes, $45,000 in compensatory and $100,000 in punitive damages and reasonable attorney’s fees. The company must also remove disciplinary information from the employee’s personnel record and provide whistleblower rights information to its employees.

OSHA’s investigation upheld the employee’s allegation that the railroad terminated his employment on Feb. 26, 2013, in retaliation for reporting hazardous safety conditions and refusing to complete the dangerous tasks. Operating in dark, foggy conditions during the early morning hours of Dec. 15, 2012, the conductor did not perform a required roll-by inspection of a passing train near the Flint rail yard. The train was stopped on a bridge with a steep incline down to the river, and the conductor felt this was an unsafe location for the inspection.

Following an internal investigative hearing, the railroad removed him from service and accused him of violating the company’s policy to inspect passing trains when duties and terrain permit, and subsequently terminated the employee. OSHA’s investigation, however, found that the railroad terminated the employee in retaliation for having engaged in protected conduct under the FRSA. The investigation also found that crew members of the passing train were not held to the same standard to conduct a roll-by inspection.

Either party in these cases can file an appeal with the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.

Tags Canadian National, CN, Grand Trunk Western Railroad, OSHA

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Union Pacific Railroad has been ordered to reinstate an injured employee and pay the worker more than $85,000 in damages following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA found that the company, based in Omaha, Neb., was in violation of the whistleblower provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act for terminating an employee following the reporting of a workplace injury that occurred at the company’s North Platte, Neb., terminal.

Union Pacific has been ordered to pay $10,000 in compensatory and $75,000 in punitive damages, as well as reasonable attorney’s fees. The company must also remove disciplinary information from the employee’s personnel record and provide whistleblower rights information to its employees. Back wages were not sought.

“An employer does not have the right to retaliate against employees who report work-related injuries and safety concerns,” said Marcia P. Drumm, OSHA’s acting regional administrator in Kansas City. “Whistleblower protections play an important role in keeping workplaces safe. Workers should never be forced to choose between safe work practices and keeping their job.”

OSHA’s investigation upheld the employee’s allegation that the railroad terminated his employment in retaliation for reporting an injury and for reporting that a company chair was allegedly defective. The employee suffered an injury to his back on Oct. 15, 2012, when the chair he was using collapsed. The employee reported his injury to his supervisor and submitted a personal injury report, noting that the condition of the chair contributed to his injuries.

After the employee reported his injuries, the railroad removed him from service and accused him of violating the company’s workplace violence policy and other work-related rules, and subsequently terminated the employee.

OSHA’s investigation, however, found that the railroad terminated the employee in retaliation for having engaged in protected conduct under the FRSA, and that the railroad had engaged in hostility toward the employee for reporting the injury.

Either party in these cases can file an appeal with the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.

Tags OSHA, Union Pacific, whisteblower

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found Wisconsin Central Limited railway in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act for terminating a conductor following the reporting of a workplace injury that occurred in Manitowoc, Wis.

“The majority of complaints received by OSHA under the Federal Railroad Safety Act involve allegations that a railroad worker has been retaliated against for reporting an on-the-job injury. No worker should feel his job is at risk for reporting an injury or seeking medical attention,” said Nick Walters, OSHA’s regional administrator in Chicago. “When employees are disciplined for reporting workplace injuries, safety concerns or illnesses, worker safety and health are clearly not the company’s priority.”

OSHA has ordered Wisconsin Central, a subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway, to pay the conductor $352,082.75. Included in the amount is $217,082.75 in back wages, applicable employment taxes, $60,000 in compensatory damages and $75,000 in punitive damages. The company also will be required to reinstate the worker, pay reasonable attorney’s fees, remove disciplinary information from the employee’s personnel record and must provide whistleblower rights information to workers.

The conductor was within his 60-day probationary period when the injury occurred. The injury was reported later that day, but not before the end of his shift. On his last day of probation, he was issued a removal-from-service letter that rejected his employment application. Later, the railroad stated that he had violated a company rule by failing to report an injury before his workday ended.

Either party in these cases can file an appeal with the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.

Tags OSHA, Wisconsin Central

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found Grand Trunk Western Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad Co. in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act for suspending and/or disciplining five workers following the reporting of workplace injuries or illnesses.

“When employees are disciplined for reporting workplace injuries, safety concerns or illnesses, worker safety and health are clearly not the company’s priority,” said Nick Walters, OSHA’s regional administrator in Chicago. “More than 60 percent of the FRSA complaints filed with OSHA against railroad companies involve an allegation that a railroad worker has been retaliated against for reporting an on-the-job injury. This is unacceptable and a culture that must be changed.”

The department has ordered the companies to pay back wages, along with interest, punitive and compensatory damages, and attorney’s fees. The companies will also be required to remove disciplinary information from the employees’ personnel records and must provide whistleblower rights information to workers.

OSHA has ordered Grand Trunk Western Railway Co., a subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway, to pay four workers a total of $85,580.

A building and bridge carpenter will receive $29,671 in lost wages, less employment taxes, $2,119 in lost vacation pay and $10,000 in punitive and compensatory damages. OSHA’s investigation upheld his allegations that he was suspended for 20 days after reporting a workplace injury that occurred in South Bend, Ind., in December 2011.

A conductor will receive $29,671 in lost wages, less employment taxes, $2,119 in lost vacation pay and $10,000 in punitive and compensatory damages. He received a 60-day suspension from work after reporting a workplace injury that occurred in Lansing, Mich., in November 2011.

Another conductor working in Pontiac, Mich., can expect $1,500 in punitive and compensatory damages and no loss of wages after the employee was issued a 45-day suspension, which has not been served, for taking unauthorized leave in June and July 2012 for ongoing medical treatment. OSHA’s finding upheld that the medical treatment should have been an excused absence. Additionally, a conductor working in Battle Creek, Mich., will receive $500 in punitive damages and one day’s lost wages after he was issued a one-day suspension for reporting a workplace injury in February 2013.

Union Pacific Railroad Co. has been ordered to pay a brakeman $1,289.68 in lost wages, less employment taxes, and $10,000 in punitive and compensatory damages, along with interest and attorney’s fees. OSHA’s investigation upheld the brakeman’s allegation that the railway issued him a one-day suspension and required him to attend remedial simulator training after he was injured by battery acid fumes when investigating a possible fire in the engine room of a train in the Dupo Illinois Yard.

Either party in these cases can file an appeal with the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.

Tags Grand Trunk Western Railway Co., OSHA, Union Pacific, whistleblower

The Rail Workers Hazardous Materials Training Program announces three HazMat/Chemical Emergency Response Training Programs will be held this spring in Houston, Texas.

These programs address U.S. Department of Transportation and the Occupational Health and safety Administration required training in addition to procedures, levels of response and worker protection in a hazardous materials emergency or release, weapons of mass destruction awareness and the incident command system. The training also provides completion of the OSHA 10-Hour General Industry Outreach requirements.

The programs are delivered using interactive classroom instruction, small group activities, hands-on drills and a simulated hazmat response in full safety gear.

The Rail Workers Hazardous Materials Training Program is funded to provide this training by a federal grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

These five-day hazmat training courses will provide rail workers the essential knowledge, skills, and response actions in the case of an unintentional release. These tools will allow rail workers to protect themselves, their co-workers and their communities.

The funding provides the following student expenses: air travel, lodging and meals. In addition, an incentive of $600 per week is available to all training participants of these programs, except those who are able to secure regular pay through their employer, or are paid union officers.

Training will be conducted at the Houston Fire Department’s Val Jahnke Training Facility, 8030 Braniff St. Houston, TX 77061. Programs begin Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. and conclude Fridays at 1 p.m.

Students may be asked to travel on Saturdays to meet program start times or where substantial reductions in airfare warrant.

Register now by completing the attached application form and emailing it to bsafe2day@gmail.com, or send by U.S. mail to: Henry Jajuga, Director, RWHMTP, 17530 Bering Bridge Lane Humble, TX 77346, Please make sure to select one of the following dates: April 27-May 2, 2014, June 1-6, 2014, or June 8-13, 2014.

For additional information, please contact Henry Jajuga via email. For telephone inquiries, please call (281) 812-6436, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. central standard time.

Tags DOT, hazmat, OSHA, Rail Workers Hazardous Materials Training Program