OSHA Finds Retaliation in Railroad Whistleblower Case

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered Union Pacific Railroad Company to reassign, reimburse, and pay compensatory damages to a former employee who alleged that he was retaliated against for requesting a lookout while performing work on adjacent railroad tracks.  After investigating the whistleblower complaint, OSHA concluded that Union Pacific violated the whistleblower provisions of the Federal Rail Safety Act (FRSA) when it eliminated the welder position and forced the employee to increase his daily commute by 131 miles.  The take away point for this case is that the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA prohibit all forms of retaliation, including the elimination of an employment position merely because an employee voices a safety concern.  The Employment Law Group® law firm routinely represents employees in whistleblower retaliation actions.  For more information about the FRSA and The Employment Law Group® law firm’s Transportation Whistleblower Practice, click here.

Tagged: Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA), Whistleblower Laws (Federal)