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OSHA logo; OSHAHere we go again – or should we say, again and again and again and again.

This time it is Canadian National’s Illinois Central Railroad and short line Chicago, Ft. Wayne & Eastern Railroad that have been hit with more than $650,000 in sanctions by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for retaliating against three employees who reported workplace injuries and/or safety concerns.

Sadly, there is basis in fact for the refrain that no industry spends as much to hire and train new employees as do railroads and then works so hard to intimidate, harass and fire them.

The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said the more than $650,000 in sanctions is to go toward back wages and damages for two Illinois Central employees at the railroad’s Markham, Ill., yard, and a Chicago, Ft. Wayne and Eastern employee — all of whom were the targets of management retaliation in three separate incidents.

“It is critically important that railroad employees in the Midwest and across the nation know that OSHA intends to defend the rights of workers who report injuries and safety concerns,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor Dr. David Michaels. “We will use the full force of the law to make sure that workers who are retaliated against for reporting health and safety concerns are made whole.”

Michaels has said that before, in the wake of its investigations and sanctions against other railroads – and OSHA continues to deliver on its promise.

The Federal Rail Safety Act of 1970 extended whistleblower protection to employees retaliated against for reporting an injury or illness requiring medical attention. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 added additional requirements ensuring injured workers receive prompt medical attention. An employer is outright prohibited from disciplining an employee for requesting medical or first-aid treatment, or for following a physician’s orders, a physician’s treatment plan, or medical advice, or for reporting workplace safety concerns.

Retaliation, including threats of retaliation, is defined as firing or laying off, blacklisting, demoting, denying overtime or promotion, disciplining, denying benefits, failing to rehire, intimidation, reassignment affecting promotion prospects, or reducing pay or hours.

OSHA, which does not identify whistleblowers, said the first employee, a conductor, was injured in August 2008 when he was knocked unconscious and sustained injuries to his shoulder, back and head while switching railcars in Illinois Central’s Markham, Ill., yard. A knuckle that connects the cars allegedly broke, said OSHA, causing the cars to suddenly jolt and the employee to fall. The railroad held an investigative hearing and consequently terminated the conductor, alleging he had violated safety rules. 

OSHA, however, found that the worker was terminated in reprisal for reporting a work-related injury.

The second employee, a carman, reported an arm/shoulder injury in February 2008. While walking along a platform to inspect railcars in the poorly lit yard, said OSHA, the carman slipped on ice and tried to catch himself, which jolted his left arm and shoulder. The railroad held an investigative hearing and consequently terminated the carman for allegedly violating the company’s injury reporting procedures.

OSHA, however, concluded that the carman had properly reported the injury.

 In the third incident, OSHA said Chicago Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad – a RailAmerica property — wrongly terminated a conductor in retaliation for his raising concerns about workplace safety while serving as a union officer, and for reporting a trainmaster had instructed him to operate a train in violation of certain Federal Railroad Administration rules in June 2009 near Fort Wayne, Ind.

UTU designated legal counsel have pledged to investigate and assist UTU members in bringing complaints under these laws.

A rail employee may file a whistle-blower complaint directly with OSHA, or may contact a UTU designated legal counsel, general chairperson or state legislative director for assistance.

A listing of UTU designated legal counsel is available at:

https://www.smart-union.org/td/designated-legal-counsel/

or may be obtained from local or general committee officers or state legislative directors.

To view a more detailed OSHA fact sheet, click on the following link:

www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA-factsheet-whistleblower-railroad.pdf

OSHA logo; OSHAFollowing almost 1,000 complaints from rail workers that they were improperly disciplined for reporting injuries or unsafe working conditions, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have forged an alliance to bring more pressure on railroads to stop the pattern of harassment and intimidation.

“The safety of railroad employees depends on workers’ ability to report injuries, incidents and hazards without fear of retaliation,” said OSHA.

Between 2007 and 2012, OSHA received more than 900 whistleblower complaints under the Federal Rail Safety Act, and almost 63 percent involved an allegation that a worker was retaliated against for reporting an on-the-job injury.

The Federal Rail Safety Act of 1970 extended whistleblower protection to employees retaliated against for reporting an injury or illness requiring medical attention. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 added additional requirements ensuring injured workers receive prompt medical attention. An employer is outright prohibited from disciplining an employee for requesting medical or first-aid treatment, or for following a physician’s orders, a physician’s treatment plan, or medical advice.

Retaliation, including threats of retaliation, is defined as firing or laying off, blacklisting, demoting, denying overtime or promotion, disciplining, denying benefits, failing to rehire, intimidation, reassignment affecting promotion prospects, or reducing pay or hours.

Under the coordination agreement, the FRA will refer railroad employees who complain of alleged retaliation to OSHA. OSHA will provide the FRA with copies of the complaints it receives under the Federal Rail Safety Act’s whistleblower provision, as well as any findings and preliminary orders that OSHA issues. The agencies will jointly develop training to assist FRA enforcement staff in recognizing complaints of retaliation, and to assist OSHA enforcement staff in recognizing potential violations of railroad safety regulations revealed during whistleblower investigations.

“This memorandum is a watershed moment for both railroads and labor alike,” said FRA Administrator Joe Szabo. “Securing a process that protects employees who report safety violations is critical to maintaining safety standards in the workplace.”

In recent months OSHA has ordered railroads to pay millions of dollars in sanctions for violating federal whistleblower protections. “Firing workers for reporting an injury is not only illegal, it also endangers all workers,” OSHA said. In imposing sanctions against Norfolk Southern in 2011, OSHA said the railroad’s culture of employee harassment and intimidation permitted the railroad to “maintain the appearance of an exemplary safety record.”

UTU designated legal counsel have pledged to investigate and assist UTU members in bringing complaints under these laws.

A rail employee may file a whistle-blower complaint directly with OSHA, or may contact a UTU designated legal counsel, general chairperson or state legislative director for assistance.

A listing of UTU designated legal counsel is available at:

https://www.smart-union.org/td/designated-legal-counsel/

or may be obtained from local or general committee officers or state legislative directors.

To view a more detailed OSHA fact sheet, click on the following link:

www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA-factsheet-whistleblower-railroad.pdf

It is reasonable to wonder just how many millions of dollars in sanctions must be assessed against railroads by the federal government before they learn the lesson that employees are not the equivalent of number 2 pencils to be chewed on at will and discarded when convenient.

In the most recent comeuppance applied to Norfolk Southern by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, sanctions totaling more than $802,000 were imposed as punishment for violating the whistleblower protection provisions of the new section 20109 added by Congress in 2007 to the Railroad Safety Act. NS was found to have harassed, intimidated and ultimately fired three employees who reported and sought medical attention for on-duty injuries.

NS also was ordered by OSHA to expunge the disciplinary records of the three whistleblowers, post workplace notices regarding railroad employees’ whistleblower protection rights and provide training to its employees about these rights.

The latest OSHA fines — and there have been several in the past– against NS followed OSHA investigations in Greenville, S.C.; Louisville, Ky., and Harrisburg, Pa., each showing, according to OSHA,  “reasonable cause to believe that the employees’ reporting of their workplace injuries led to internal investigations and, ultimately, to dismissals from the company.”

OSHA does not release the names of whistleblowers. The Harrisburg employee was reportedly a conductor; the Louisville whistleblower an engineer and the Greenville whistleblower a maintenance-of-way employee.

“Firing workers for reporting an injury is not only illegal, it also endangers all workers. When workers are discouraged from reporting injuries, no investigation into the cause of an injury can occur,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “To prevent more injuries, railroad workers must be able to report an injury without fear of retaliation.”

In 2011, OSHA, in hitting NS with sanctions of more than $122,000, said NS’ culture of employee harassment and intimidation permitted the railroad to “maintain the appearance of an exemplary safety record and continue its 22-consecutive-year record as recipient of the E.H.Harriman Gold Medal Rail Safety Award.”

In the latest assessment of sanctions against NS, OSHA reported:

* A maintenance-of-way employee was charged with improper performance of duties after reporting an injury as a result of being hit by a NS highway vehicle. OSHA found he had been singled out and treated with bias because of reporting the injury.

* An engineer was charged with falsifying an injury and terminated after reporting he tripped and fell in a locomotive restroom. OSHA found the investigative hearing was flawed and orchestrated to intentionally support the decision to terminate the employee.

* A conductor was charged with making false and conflicting statements and terminated after reporting a head injury sustained when he blacked out and fell down steps while returning from the locomotive lavatory. OSHA said that the day before the injury, the employee had been lauded for excellent performance, highlighted by no lost work time due to injuries in his 35-year career. OSHA again found that the investigative hearing was flawed, and there was no evidence the employee intended to misrepresent his injury.

The Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 extended whistleblower protection to employees who are retaliated against for reporting an injury or illness requiring medical attention. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 added additional requirements ensuring injured workers receive prompt medical attention. Prohibitions were imposed by Congress on carrier intimidation and harassment of injured workers in an effort to end a culture that placed the winning of carrier safety awards and year-end managerial bonuses as a higher priority than treatment and prevention of injuries.

The laws were passed by Congress after the UTU documented a railroad culture of harassment and intimidation against injured and ill workers. Their purpose is to protect rail workers from retaliation and threats of retaliation when they report injuries or illness, report that a carrier violated safety laws or regulations, or if the employee refuses to work under certain unsafe conditions or refuses to authorize the use of safety related equipment.

An employer is outright prohibited from disciplining an employee for requesting medical or first-aid treatment, or for following a physician’s orders, a physician’s treatment plan, or medical advice.

Retaliation, including threats of retaliation, is defined as firing or laying off, blacklisting, demoting, denying overtime or promotion, disciplining, denying benefits, failing to rehire, intimidation, reassignment affecting promotion prospects, or reducing pay or hours.

UTU designated legal counsel have pledged to investigate and assist UTU members in bringing complaints under these laws.

A rail employee may file a whistle-blower complaint directly with OSHA, or may contact a UTU designated legal counsel, general chairperson or state legislative director for assistance.

A listing of UTU designated legal counsel is available at:

https://www.smart-union.org/td/designated-legal-counsel/

or may be obtained from local or general committee officers or state legislative directors.

To view a more detailed OSHA fact sheet, click on the following link:

www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA-factsheet-whistleblower-railroad.pdf

OSHA logo; OSHASadly, there is a part of “no” that railroads just can’t understand. So, once again, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has hit a railroad in the wallet for violating an employee’s rights as protected under the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, which was supplemented by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

The latest wallet-lightening fine was imposed by OSHA against Union Pacific for retaliating against a Pocatello, Idaho, based locomotive engineer who was forced to work and prevented from seeking medical treatment for a migraine headache, blurred vision, dizziness, vomiting and a bloody nose.

OSHA found that the engineer’s supervisor – who also was ordered to pay a portion of the fine – used “threats and intimidation to dissuade the engineer from seeking or gaining access to medical care during his shift.”

Yes, the UP supervisor chose to order an ill locomotive engineer, whose situational awareness was clearly compromised, to operate the train.

Said OSHA in imposing more than $25,000 in punitive and compensatory damages, plus attorney fees: “It is critically important that Union Pacific Railroad employees know that OSHA intends to defend the rights of workers to report safety concerns. We will bring the full force of the law to make sure workers who are retaliated against for reporting health and safety concerns are made whole.”

Incredibly, this was the sixth time since 2009 that OSHA has found Union Pacific in violation of an employee’s rights enumerated by the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 and the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. BNSF, Metro North Railroad, Norfolk Southern and Wisconsin Central also have been penalized by OSHA for similar violations.

In late 2011, Union Pacific was ordered immediately to reinstate an employee and pay him back wages, compensatory and punitive damages and attorney fees totaling more than $300,000 after the employee was suspended, without pay, and then terminated after notifying UP of an on-the-job injury.

The Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 extended whistleblower protection to employees who are retaliated against for reporting an injury or illness requiring medical attention. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 added additional requirements ensuring injured workers receive prompt medical attention, and established prohibitions on carrier intimidation and harassment of injured workers aimed at ending a culture that placed the winning of carrier safety awards and year-end managerial bonuses as a higher priority than treatment and prevention of injuries.

The purpose of these laws — passed by Congress after the UTU documented a railroad culture of harassment and intimidation against injured and ill workers — is to protect rail workers from retaliation and threats of retaliation when they report injuries or illness, report that a carrier violated safety laws or regulations, or if the employee refuses to work under certain unsafe conditions or refuses to authorize the use of safety related equipment.

An employer is outright prohibited from disciplining an employee for requesting medical or first-aid treatment, or for following a physician’s orders, a physician’s treatment plan, or medical advice.

Retaliation, including threats of retaliation, is defined as firing or laying off, blacklisting, demoting, denying overtime or promotion, disciplining, denying benefits, failing to rehire, intimidation, reassignment affecting promotion prospects, or reducing pay or hours.

Earlier this year, OSHA elevated in agency priority its whistleblower protection efforts, placing enforcement directly under OSHA’s assistant secretary of labor. OSHA said the elevation was an effort “to strengthen employees’ voices in the workplace.”

UTU designated legal counsel have pledged to investigate and assist UTU members in bringing complaints under these laws.

A rail employee may file a whistle-blower complaint directly with OSHA, or may contact a UTU designated legal counsel, general chairperson or state legislative director for assistance.

A listing of UTU designated legal counsel is available at https://www.smart-union.org/td/designated-legal-counsel/ or may be obtained from local or general committee officers or state legislative directors.

To view a more detailed OSHA fact sheet, click on the following link:

www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA-factsheet-whistleblower-railroad.pdf

OSHA logo; OSHAWASHINGTON – Whistleblower protection administered by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been elevated in agency priority, with the program now administered directly by OSHA’s assistant secretary of labor.

The Department of Labor said the administrative change was an effort “to strengthen employees’ voices in the workplace.”

“The ability of workers to speak out and exercise their rights without fear of retaliation provides the backbone for some of American workers’ most essential legal protections,” said OSHA’s Assistant Secretary of Labor Dr. David Michaels.   

OSHA also announced that it has launched pilot projects in 10 field regions that could further strengthen the whistleblower program.

OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and 20 other statutes — including the Federal Rail Safety Act of 2007 — protecting employees who report alleged violations of various workplace safety regulations.

Over the past several years, OSHA has cited numerous railroads for violations of whistleblower protection, imposing hefty fines and reparations in favor of injured workers who suffered harassment or intimidation for reporting workplace injuries.

An employee may file a whistleblower complaint directly with OSHA, or may contact a UTU designated legal counsel, general chairperson or state legislative director for assistance.

A listing of UTU designated legal counsel is available at https://www.smart-union.org/td/designated-legal-counsel// or may be obtained from local or general committee officers or state legislative directors.

To view a more detailed OSHA fact sheet, click on the following link:

www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA-factsheet-whistleblower-railroad.pdf

 

OSHA logo; OSHAWASHINGTON –The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has created a webpage to provide worker and employer guidance during winter weather:

http://s.dol.gov/L1

The web page includes links to guidance from OSHA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross, the National Weather Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Safety Council.

On the webpage, OSHA will transmit information relating to worker safety that includes tips on avoiding:

* Being struck by falling objects such as icicles, tree limbs, and utility poles

* Accidents due to slippery roadways

* Carbon monoxide poisoning

* Dehydration, hypothermia and frostbite

* Exhaustion from strenuous activity

* Back injuries or heart attack while removing snow

* Slips and falls due to slippery walkways

* Electrocution from downed power lines and downed objects in contact with power lines

* Burns from fires caused by energized line contact or equipment failure

* Falls from snow removal on roofs or while working in aerial lifts or on ladders

* Roof collapse under weight of snow (or melting snow if drains are clogged)

* Lacerations or amputations from unguarded or improperly operated chain saws and power tools, and improperly attempting to clear jams in snow blowers

OSHA also offers the following winter-weather tips for workers and employers:

* Assume all power lines are energized and stay well clear of any downed or damaged power lines

* Make certain all powered equipment is properly guarded and disconnected from power sources before cleaning or performing maintenance

* Use caution around surfaces weighed down by large amounts snow or of ice

* Scoop small amounts of snow and using proper lifting form to avoid over-exertion or injuries

* Clear walking surfaces of snow and ice and use salt or its equivalent where appropriate 

* Employers should provide and ensure the use of fall protection and provide and maintain ladders 

* Stay in the vehicle – do not leave the vehicle unless help is visible within 100 yards

* Wear reflective clothing, and eye, face and body protection

* Establish and clearly marking work zones

* Use engineering controls, personal protective equipment and safe work practices to reduce the length and severity of exposure to the cold

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 immediately to reinstate an employee in Idaho and pay him back wages, compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees totally more than $300,000.

The unidentified UP employee had filed a whistleblower complaint with OSHA, alleging suspension without pay and then termination 23 days after notifying the company of an on-the-job injury. OSHA’s investigation found reasonable cause to believe that the disciplinary charges and termination were not based on the complainant breaking a work rule, but on the complainant reporting an injury to the railroad, in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act’s whistleblower protection provisions.

“The safety of all workers is endangered when employers intimidate injured workers so that they do not report injuries,” OSHA said in assessing the penalties.

This was the fifth OSHA whistleblower violation against Union Pacific since 2009. BNSF, Metro North Railroad, Norfolk Southern and Wisconsin Central also have been penalized by OSHA for violating workers’ whistleblower rights.

As UTU rail members are painfully aware, railroads have routinely tied managerial bonuses to low reportable injury rates among employees, creating a culture of fear through harassment and intimidation – a culture that discourages the reporting by workers of on-duty injuries and allows railroads to claim an industry safety award accompanied by glowing press releases as to its low employee-injury rate.

After collecting file drawers full of verified complaints from members of carrier harassment and intimidation following an on-duty injury, the UTU’s National Legislative Office was successful in shepherding through Congress the Federal Rail Safety Act of 2007.

The law’s purpose is to protect rail workers from retaliation and threats of retaliation when they report injuries, report that a carrier violated safety laws or regulations, or if the employee refuses to work under certain unsafe conditions or refuses to authorize the use of safety related equipment.

An employer also is prohibited from disciplining an employee for requesting medical or first-aid treatment, or for following a physician’s orders, a physician’s treatment plan, or medical advice.

Retaliation, including threats of retaliation, is defined as firing or laying off, blacklisting, demoting, denying overtime or promotion, disciplining, denying benefits, failing to rehire, intimidation, reassignment affecting promotion prospects, or reducing pay or hours.

A rail employee may file a whistle-blower complaint directly with OSHA, or may contact a UTU designated legal counsel, general chairperson or state legislative director for assistance.

A listing of UTU designated legal counsel is available at https://www.smart-union.org/td/designated-legal-counsel// or may be obtained from local or general committee officers or state legislative directors.

To view a more detailed OSHA fact sheet, click on the following link:

www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA-factsheet-whistleblower-railroad.pdf

For too many years, many railroads have tied managerial bonuses to low reportable injury rates among employees, creating a culture of fear through harassment and intimidation – a culture that discourages the reporting by workers of on-duty injuries and allows railroads to claim an industry safety award accompanied by glowing press releases as to its low employee-injury rate.

After collecting file drawers full of verified complaints from members of carrier harassment and intimidation following an on-duty injury, the UTU’s National Legislative Office was successful in shepherding through Congress the Federal Rail Safety Act of 2007.

It purpose is to protect rail workers from retaliation and threats of retaliation when they report injuries, report that a carrier violated safety laws or regulations, or if the employee refuses to work under certain unsafe conditions or refuses to authorize the use of any safety related equipment.

An employer also is prohibited from disciplining an employee for requesting medical or first-aid treatment, or for following a physician’s orders, a physician’s treatment plan, or medical advice.

Retaliation, including threats of retaliation, is defined as firing or laying off, blacklisting, demoting, denying overtime or promotion, disciplining, denying benefits, failing to rehire, intimidation, reassignment affecting promotion prospects, or reducing pay or hours.

What was missing was tough enforcement of the law – but no more.

For the seventh time in recent months, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has taken strong action against a railroad for violating the law – and fully protecting the whistle-blowing employees who suffered harassment and intimidation by the offending carrier.

In the latest OSHA action, Union Pacific was ordered in August to pay more than $600,000 in back wages, punitive damages, compensatory damages and legal fees to three employees for improper termination and suspension – all in retaliation for reporting workplace injuries, said OSHA.

Said OSHA: “Union Pacific Railroad has created a climate of fear instead of a climate of safety. The company must take immediate steps to change this unacceptable pattern of retaliation.”

One UP conductor working out of Kansas City, Mo., was terminated after making repeated complaints to the railroad’s hotline about fall and trip hazards, missing roadway signs, other safety issues and reporting that a supervisor had violated safety procedures during a field test, said OSHA. The conductor was also cited for having a tattoo the railroad deemed as creating a hostile work environment – a tattoo OSHA said commemorated his prior military service.

A second conductor, working out of Kansas City, was suspended without pay after making several complains about “rough spots on the track,” said OSHA.

And a UP engineer, working out of Tucson, Ariz., was improperly terminated after reporting a workplace injury, said OSHA in imposing the awards and fines.

Separately in August, OSHA ordered BNSF to pay a conductor $300,000 to cover back wages, attorney’s fees and damages for improperly suspending her after she reported an injury. According to OSHA, the conductor twisted a knee in a BNSF yard in Seattle.

Although BNSF officials followed her to the emergency room, according to OSHA, the railroad later accused her of failing to report the injury in a timely manner and suspended her for 30 days without pay. BNSF also assessed her points, alleging she needed additional knowledge, training or behavior focus, said OSHA, which called that action “disciplining an employee who reports a work-related personal injury.”

In other recent OSHA actions:

* Norfolk Southern was ordered to pay a former employee more than $122,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, plus attorney fees, for improper termination after the employee reported an on-duty injury. OSHA also issued a startling statement validating what many UTU members have long suspected – that Norfolk Southern’s culture of employee harassment and intimidation permitted the railroad to “maintain the appearance of an exemplary safety record and continue its 22-consecutive-year record as recipient of the E.H.Harriman Gold Medal Rail Safety Award.”

According to OSHA, the injury occurred in a NS yard in Jamestown, N.C., while the worker was removing spikes. Fearing loss of employment, the worker did not report the injury until a re-injury occurred. The employee was subsequently terminated.

* Metro North Commuter Railroad was ordered to promote a worker and pay him more than $130,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, plus legal fees, for improperly discriminating against him by classifying the injury as not work-related and denying him a promotion.

* A Wisconsin Central conductor was awarded more than $125,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, plus legal fees, following unlawful harassment and intimidation as the result of reporting an injury.

* Union Pacific was ordered to rehire a machinist it had fired following the reporting of a work-related injury.

* BNSF was ordered to rehire a conductor after being found guilty of improper retaliation after the conductor filed an injury report.

In all cases, OSHA ordered the railroads to provide training on whistle-blower rights to its managers, supervisors and employees, and to notify employees of their rights to be able to file complains without fear of retaliation under the Federal Rail Safety Act.

A rail employee may file a whistle-blower complaint directly with OSHA, or may contact a UTU designated legal counsel, general chairperson or state legislative director for assistance.

A listing of UTU designated legal counsel is available at http://www.utu.org/, or may be obtained from local or general committee officers or state legislative directors.

To view a more detailed OSHA fact sheet, click on the following link:

http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA-factsheet-whistleblower-railroad.pdf

While sleep scientists have established that going to work fatigued is like going to work drunk, there remains a disconnect among those who manage transportation firms. And people are needlessly dying and being seriously injured as a result.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood June 1 criticized his own Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for not sooner putting a North Carolina bus operator — allegedly with a history of safety problems, including forcing drivers to work without sufficient rest — out of business sooner.

When the FMCSA finally got around to taking that shutdown action against the bus company May 31, four more lives were lost and 54 more passengers were injured.

The cause of that rollover bus accident near Richmond, Va., May 27 was driver fatigue, according to Virginia State Police, who jailed the bus operator for reckless driving. Seven times since October 2009, the bus company — Sky Express of Charlotte, N.C. — had been cited by the FMCSA for violating federal hours-of-service regulations requiring adequate rest for drivers, according to USA Today.

“I’m extremely disappointed that this carrier was allowed to continue operating unsafely when it should have been placed out of service,” LaHood told USA Today.

Sky Express received an “unsatisfactory” safety rating in April from the FMCSA, according to USA Today, but the FMCSA extended its investigation to, according to an FMCSA spokesperson, “make sure we had an airtight case to shut the company down.”

LaHood told USA Today, “There is no excuse for delay when a bus operator should be put out of service for safety’s sake. On my watch, there will never be another extension granted to a carrier we believe is unsafe.”

The FMCSA said Sky Express had numerous violations for keeping fatigued drivers behind the wheel and failing to ensure its drivers were properly licensed, had proper medical certificates, and could read road signs in English.

The National Transportation Safety Board blamed driver fatigue for a 2008 bus crash in Utah that killed nine, and a 2004 crash in Arkansas that killed 14. A fatal bus crash near New York City March 12, which killed 15, is under investigation. The company operating the bus was cited five times in fewer than two years for allowing fatigued drivers behind the wheel.

UTU members should note that federal law protects aviation, bus and rail workers from retaliation and threats of retaliation when they report that a carrier violated federal hours-of-service regulations.

Whistle-blower complaints may be filed directly with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), or you may contact a UTU designated legal counsel, your general chairperson or your state legislative director for assistance.

To view a more detailed OSHA fact sheet on whistle-blower protection, click on the following link:

www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA-factsheet-whistleblower-railroad.pdf

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — A Union Pacific machinist here was ordered rehired with back pay in a ruling by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) that found Union Pacific violated the worker’s rights under the Federal Rail Safety Act of 2007.

OSHA ruled that in firing the machinist, after he had reported a work-related injury, Union Pacific had improperly retaliated against him.

The railroad also was ordered to post a workplace notice admitting it was found to have retaliated against an employee for reporting a work-related injury.

In December 2010, OSHA ordered a UTU member employed by BNSF to be reinstated with back pay after finding BNSF guilty of improper retaliation after the worker filed an injury report with the Federal Railroad Administration.

The Federal Rail Safety Act of 2007 protects rail workers from retaliation and threats of retaliation when they report injuries, report that a carrier violated safety laws or regulations, or if the employee refuses to work under certain unsafe conditions or refuses to authorize the use of any safety related equipment.

Retaliation, including threats of retaliation, is defined as firing or laying off, blacklisting, demoting, denying overtime or promotion, disciplining, denying benefits, failing to rehire, intimidation, reassignment affecting promotion prospects, or reducing pay or hours.

An employer also is prohibited from disciplining an employee for requesting medical or first-aid treatment, or for following a physician’s orders, a physician’s treatment plan, or medical advice.

This protection is known as “whistle-blower protection,” and the federal law is enforced by OSHA, as it was against UP and BNSF.

Relief may include reinstatement with the same seniority and benefits, back pay with interest, compensatory damages (including witness and legal fees), and punitive damages as high as $250,000.

A rail employee may file the complaint directly with OSHA, or may contact a UTU designated legal counsel, general chairperson or state legislative director for assistance.

A listing of UTU designated legal counsel is available at www.utu.org, or may be obtained from local or general committee officers or state legislative directors.

To view a more detailed OSHA fact sheet, click on the following link:

http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA-factsheet-whistleblower-railroad.pdf