A whistleblower investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. violated an employee’s rights by disciplining him for exercising his rights under the Federal Railroad Safety Act.
According to OSHA, the employee, under a doctor’s order, was absent from work while recovering from a work-related injury. The railroad brought the employee up on charges for absenteeism, and the employee ultimately was suspended.
The worker filed a whistleblower complaint with OSHA alleging he was suspended by the railroad for following his doctor’s order not to work while recovering from an injury. OSHA’s investigation, conducted under the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA, found merit in the complaint.
“Railroad employees have the statutory right to report work-related injuries and to follow the orders or treatment plan of a treating physician,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York. “Railroads who retaliate against employees for exercising these rights will be held accountable.”
As a result of its findings, OSHA ordered PATH to take corrective action, including expunging disciplinary actions and references to them from various records as well as compensating the worker for lost wages resulting from the suspension. The railroad also must post and provide its employees with information on their FRSA whistleblower rights.
PATH and the complainant have 30 days from receipt of the findings to file an appeal with the Labor Department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges. (workersxzcompxzkit)
Under the FRSA, employees of a railroad carrier and its contractors and subcontractors are protected against retaliation for reporting on-the-job injuries as well as reporting certain safety and security violations and cooperating with investigations by OSHA and other regulatory agencies
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