The Occupational Safety  and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently awarded a railroad signalman over $38,000 in damages after determining that his employer, the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp. (better known as “Metra”), illegally retaliated against him for making a safety complaint.  In addition, Metra has been ordered by OSHA [...]

In Bailey v. Consolidated Rail Corporation, the Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) upheld an order of reinstatement by the administrative law judge (“ALJ”) who heard the case.  The Board found that Consolidated Rail Corporation (“Conrail”) had failed to demonstrate anything “exceptional” about this case which would lead to overturn its [...]

Railroad whistleblowers who are retaliated against for reporting work-related injuries continue to be awarded significant damages from their former employers after filing complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the Department of Labor.  On March 12, 2013, OSHA announced it had once again ordered Union Pacific Railroad Co. – a company whose [...]

Multiple retaliation lawsuits have cost Norfolk Southern Railway Co. millions of dollars over the past 18 months, and the trend is showing no signs of slowing down.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced on February 28, 2013, that it settled another case with Norfolk Southern Railway Co., [...]

Railroad whistleblowers welcomed a decision handed down by the Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) on December 21, 2012, in the case of Vernace v. Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp.  While the amount awarded to Laura Vernace, a Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation (“PATH”) employee, was nominal, the case illustrates an important point: [...]

Railroad workers who report workplace injuries were given something to celebrate yesterday, when the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that it had signed an accord with BNSF Railroad Co., a railroad company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.  The accord addressed a number of policies the company had [...]

Retaliating against railroad safety whistleblowers continues to cost Norfolk Southern Railway Co.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has once again ordered the railroad company to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to an employee after it determined that the company terminated the employee in retaliation for [...]

Railroad employees who report injuries to their supervisors continue to suffer retaliation at Norfolk Southern Railway Co., a freight railroad company headquartered in Virginia.  At the same time, however, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) continues to penalize the company for its infractions.  On Tuesday, August 28, [...]

Railroad employees who report workplace injuries will benefit from an important victory last month before the Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”).  On July 25, 2012, the ARB reversed the decision of an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) in the case of Santiago v. Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, Inc., and held [...]

Yet another rail safety whistleblower at Norfolk Southern Railway Co. has been awarded damages by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) after the agency determined that the employee was terminated in retaliation for reporting a workplace injury.  The company is no stranger to this process – this [...]