A federal administrative law judge (ALJ) ordered Class I railroad freight company CSX Transportation Inc. to reinstate two railroad workers who were wrongfully terminated for reporting safety concerns and pay the workers a total of $453,510, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced October 11.
The decision out of the Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges follows an OSHA whistleblower investigation of CSX after the workers reported a blue flag on the tracks at a Waycross, Georgia, railyard, signaling they couldn’t safely move their train. CSX responded by removing the workers from their assignment and later firing them.
OSHA determined that CSX’s response violated federal protections for workers raising safety issues.
OSHA’s whistleblower protection authority was established in the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970 to protect workers who lodge workplace safety or health complaints or cooperate with agency investigations of safety and health violations. OSHA is now responsible for investigating whistleblower complaints under more than 20 federal statutes, including the Federal Railroad Safety Act.
“The Federal Railroad Safety Act protects workers’ rights to report safety concerns without fear of retaliation,” Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA’s Atlanta regional administrator, said in an agency statement. “When employers like CSX Transportation retaliate against workers for raising safety concerns, they create an environment of fear that can lead to dangerous and sometimes deadly situations.”
“The workers did what they were supposed to–they saw that the tracks were deemed unsafe, they communicated the issue, and waited for further instructions,” Petermeyer continued. “Despite following protocol, they were fired for the delay. This retaliatory behavior is unacceptable.”
The sum cited in the judge’s order includes $248,856 in back wages plus compound daily interest; $100,000 for emotional distress; and $100,000 for punitive damages for the two workers. CSX also was ordered to pay one of the workers $4,654 for health insurance premiums paid after the termination.
The ALJ also ordered CSX to reinstate the workers to their previous positions and seniority and pay reasonable attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.
The decision is the latest in a string of federal actions against CSX, including:
- OSHA’s July 2021 order to pay $221,976 in back wages, interest, and damages to a worker similarly terminated in New Orleans.
- An October 2020 order to reinstate an employee and pay more than $95,000 in back wages and $75,000 in punitive damages after an employee in Rebecca, Georgia, reported an unsafe customer gate and an on-the-job injury.
- Whistleblower investigations at a locomotive shop in 2016 and a dispatch office in 2010 in Selkirk, New York, led to reinstatements and payment of back wages and damages to employees.
The agency enforces federal whistleblower provisions protecting workers who report violations of airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, food, maritime, motor vehicle, nuclear, pipeline, railroad, and workplace safety laws, as well as anti-money laundering, criminal antitrust, environmental, financial reform, health insurance reform, public transportation agency, securities, and tax laws.
According to OSHA, CSX is a subsidiary of the Jacksonville, Florida-based CSX Corporation, one of the nation’s largest transportation service providers.