Administrator
Posted 18 December 2014 - 10:15 PM
CBS News New York - AP, 12/16:
Metro-North Ordered To Pay Record Fine In Retaliation Case
HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) – The U.S. Labor Department has ordered the Metro-North Railroad to pay a record fine for taking disciplinary action against an employee who reported getting injured on the job.
The department said Tuesday that the fine of more than $250,000 marks the largest punitive damages ever in a retaliation case under the Federal Railroad Safety Act.
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Administrator
Posted 18 December 2014 - 10:24 PM
The Journal News, White Plains, NY, 12/16:
Metro-North to pay Conn. worker $260K
WASHINGTON – A month after one federal agency criticized Metro-North for not encouraging employees to report safety issues, another federal agency has ordered the commuter railroad to pay $260,000 in damages for retaliating against a worker who reported an on-the-job injury.
SNIP
The Connecticut-based cleaning employee, who has not been identified, reported an on-the-job knee injury in November 2011. A supervisor who drove the employee to a hospital for treatment told the employee that workers who report on-the-job injuries are reported for safety violations and not considered for promotions.
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Administrator
Posted 18 December 2014 - 10:32 PM
The Advocate, Stamford, CT, 12/17:
Editorial: Metro-North must not cover its tracks
When viewed alongside all of the other disturbing news out of Metro-North Railroad over the last two years, the $250,000 fine the commuter line incurred this week might seem like a mere peccadillo. But the reason for the fine, which had to do with retaliation against an injured employee, points to a troubling workplace culture.
The fine was the largest punitive damage award ever assessed by the U.S. Department of Labor in a retaliation case, and the maximum amount in damages allowed under law. It sprung from a relatively minor incident -- a worker tripped on a board, then was told by his foreman that he would be "a car-cleaner the rest of your life" if the injury was reported.
In the ensuing investigation, it was revealed these were not the solitary actions of a misguided yard boss. The injured worker was subsequently cited for four violations and continued to be bullied by the supervisor.
This is the sort of behavior one would scorn on a school playground. . . .
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This was an outrageous action by an agency that is entrusted with thousands of human lives every day. Riders deserve a more detailed response from Metro-North. Not only should a reporting system be prioritized, but employees should be encouraged to report any past incidents of inappropriate behavior to ensure the depth of the problem is identified and addressed. A railroad must consider the tracks it traveled in the past, for those tracks will also carry them forward.
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Administrator
Posted 19 December 2014 - 07:43 AM
OSHA news release, 12/16:
Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co. violates rights of Connecticut worker
who reported injury and filed OSHA complaint
Railroad ordered by U.S. Labor Department to pay maximum punitive damages
HARTFORD, Conn. — Metro-North's actions against an injured worker have resulted in the largest punitive damages ever in a retaliation case under the Federal Railroad Safety Act. A recent investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration uncovered these details and revealed that the worker, who is employed as a coach cleaner for the commuter rail carrier, was retaliated against after reporting the knee injury he suffered on Nov. 17, 2011. As a result, the company has been ordered to pay the employee a total of $250,000 in punitive damages, $10,000 in compensatory damages and to cover reasonable attorney fees.
While driving the injured employee to the hospital, a Metro-North supervisor also intimidated the worker, reportedly telling the worker that railroad employees who are hurt on the job are written up for safety and are not considered for advancement or promotions within the company.
Unofficial reports from other employees appear to corroborate the supervisor's claims. For instance, one worker smashed her foot with a barrel while on the job, yet she did not file an accident report and showed up to work every day using crutches in hope of keeping her injury record clean. Another worker was injured when her hand was caught in a broken door but, like her coworker, she did not fill out an incident report for fear of reprisal.
Shortly after the Connecticut employee reported the work-related injury, Metro-North issued disciplinary charges against him. The employee filed an initial Federal Railroad Safety Act anti-discrimination complaint with OSHA on April 19, 2012. An amended complaint was filed on April 9, 2013, after the railroad issued additional disciplinary charges against him.
"When employees, fearing retaliation, hesitate to report work-related injuries and the safety hazards that caused them, companies cannot fix safety problems and neither employees nor the public are safe," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "In this case, the Metro-North's conduct was deliberate and discriminatory, and we have assessed the maximum amount in punitive damages allowed under the law."
OSHA's investigation found that the employee engaged in protected activity when he reported his injury and filed his complaints with OSHA, that Metro North knew these were protected activities and that these protected activities were contributing factors in Metro North's subsequent disciplining of the employee.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) published a preliminary Special Investigation Report dated November 19, 2014, regarding several recent accidents, including fatalities, involving Metro-North. The NTSB noted in their findings that "Metro-North Railroad did not have an effective program that encouraged all employees to report safety issues and observations." OSHA's findings here provide another example of this: if employees are discouraged from reporting injuries, the employees and the public are endangered as Metro-North cannot correct the conditions which caused the injuries.
In addition to paying punitive and compensatory damages, OSHA ordered Metro-North to expunge the employee's record of all charges and disciplinary action. The company must also conduct training for all supervisors and managers on employee whistleblower rights and post a notice to employees of their whistleblower rights. Both the employee and the railroad have 30 days from receipt of OSHA's findings to file objections and request a hearing before the Labor Department's Office of Administrative Law Judges.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA Act 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, public transportation agency, maritime and securities laws.
Under these laws enacted by Congress, 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 for an investigation by OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program. Detailed employee rights information is available online 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.
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Administrator
Posted 19 December 2014 - 07:53 AM
Hartford (CT) Courant, 12/16:
Metro-North Faces Historic Fine For Retaliating Against Worker Who Reported Injury
HARTFORD — The embattled Metro-North Railroad has been slammed with the largest fine of its kind in U.S. history for retaliating against a worker who had reported an on-the-job injury in 2011, federal authorities announced Tuesday.
SNIP
Shortly before Thanksgiving in 2011, a Metro-North worker — a coach cleaner — injured his knee on the job when he tripped on a wooden board that was sticking up 6 inches from a paved pathway, according to an investigation by the labor department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The worker was not named in OSHA findings.
His foreman drove the Connecticut worker to a hospital. On the way, the worker "covertly recorded" the conversation with his boss, OSHA said. The foreman told the worker, among other things, that employees who get hurt on the job are automatically written up for safety violations "and are not considered for … promotions within the company."
The foreman was recorded telling the worker that she believed she made foreman because she had kept quiet about injuries she suffered and therefore had a clean record, OSHA said.
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