The Federal Employers’ Liability Act (“FELA”), 45 USC §51 et seq., is a federal law that provides damages to railroad employees injured because of a railroad’s negligence during their employment. What happens to a claim under… Read More

Cody Ziparo worked as a Conductor for CSX Transportation, Inc. in Watertown, New York. CSXT utilized an “On-Board Work Order System” (OBWO) at this location, which requires the train crew to record tasks into a tablet computer as they are… Read More

As I have previously discussed in the Rail Law Blog, the most disputed issue in proving a claim under the Federal Rail Safety Act (“FRSA”) is often whether an employee’s protected activity is a contributing factor in the railroad… Read More

On March 4, 2019, the United States Supreme Court decided BNSF Railway Co. v. Loos and held that damages paid for an on-the-job injury are taxable under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA). Previously, FELA awards were considered payment for an in… Read More

To prove a claim of retaliation under the Federal Rail Safety Act (“FRSA”), a railroad worker must prove the following elements: (1) he engaged in a protected activity; (2) the railroad knew about the protected activity; (3) the worker wa… Read More

When a railroad employee is injured at work, there are frequently other employees around who can testify as to the cause of the accident. It is important that the injured employee, or his union representative, gather the names of such witnesses. It s… Read More

In my previous post, I discussed Section (c) of the FRSA, which prohibits railroads from interfering with the medical treatment plan of an employee. Since that blog was posted, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overruled the decision of the Administ… Read More

In a previous post, I discussed the medical treatment provisions of the Federal Rail Safety Act (FRSA) that prohibit railroads from denying, delaying, or interfering with the medical treatment of an employee “who is injured during the course of… Read More