The two agencies with greatest responsibilities for protecting the health and lives of railroad workers have agreed to coordinate efforts to protect rail employees who report on-the-job injuries and unsafe working conditions from discrimination and retaliation from their employers.
The Federal Railroad Administration and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on July 16, 2012, signed a memorandum of agreement that outlines programmatic efforts to ensure railroaders' whistleblower rights under the Federal Railroad Safety Authorization Act, or FRSA, are not violated. The full text of the MOA is available online.
The most important thing for rail workers to know is that federal regulators who receive injury reports or warnings about workplace dangers from conductors, engineers, carmen, trackmen, rail yard laborers or mechanics will take those alerts serious and not allow railroad corporations to use threats of firing or demotion to intimidate employees.
Collaboration between the FRA and OSHA to protect the rights of injured or endangered rail employees is badly needed. In a joint statement detailing their new cooperation, the agencies noted
Whistleblower complaints in the railroad industry have been on the rise in recent years. Between 2007 and 2012, OSHA received more than 900 whistleblower complaints under the FRSA, and almost 63 percent involved an allegation that a worker was retaliated against for reporting an on-the-job injury.
It's little wonder, then, that FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo said, “This memorandum is a watershed moment for both railroads and labor alike. Securing a process that protects employees who report safety violations is critical to maintaining safety standards in the workplace.”
As an attorney for injured railroad workers based in Virginia (VA) for more than 25 years, I know that rail companies will use almost any tactic to deter accident reports. Thanks to increasing scrutiny and FRSA enforcement over the past few years, Amtrak, BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern and other rail corporations have been less and less successful at intimidating employees. In fact, just last month, NS was ordered to pay more than $800,000 to three of its workers after OSHA determined the railroad had violated the employees' FELA rights.
I welcome closer cooperation between FRA and OSHA. Rail workers must be protected from injury and death, and their legal rights must be respected.
EJL
About the Editors: The Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm, which has offices in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC), edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as pro bono services.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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