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FRA Crew Size Rule Upheld by 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
August 13th, 2026
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (Case No. 24-11076 [Doc. #97-1]) upheld a regulation of the FRA that requires railroads, with some exceptions, to operate with at least two crewmembers on board unless the railroad can establish that a one-person cre…
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Shapero Roloff Defeats Railroad's Motion for Summary Judgment in FRSA Whistleblower Case
August 4th, 2026
A federal judge in Chicago recently denied a railroad’s motion for summary judgment in an action brought by our client under the Federal Rail Safety Act (“FRSA”). The facts of the case are familiar to those who work in the railroad industry –…
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Categories: Rail Law Blog
Shapero Roloff Co., LPA Helps Secure $600 Million Settlement in East Palestine Train Derailment
July 31st, 2026
Within days of the February 3, 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern Railway train in East Palestine, Ohio, Neal Shapero and Andrew Thompson, along with attorney Nicholas Amato, filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for t…
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U.S. Supreme Court eliminates need to prove retaliatory intent in FRSA cases
February 8th, 2024
The United States Supreme Court held in Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC, Case No. 22-660, that a whistleblower bringing a claim under a statute with the same legal standard as the Federal Rail Safety Act (FRSA) does not need to prove that the employer…
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FELA Claim for Deceased Railroad Employee
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…
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Ziparo v. CSXT - 2nd Circuit Expands Scope of Protection Under FRSA
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…
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FRSA Causation Standard - Another Federal Circuit Rejects "Inextricably Intertwined"
May 28th, 2021
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…
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Lost Wages Payable in FELA Claim Are Taxable Under RRTA
March 17th, 2019
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…
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FRSA Update - "Contributing Factor" Element
February 18th, 2019
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…
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Witnesses and the FELA Claim
January 18th, 2018
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…
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Categories: Rail Law Blog