CSX Transportation has been ordered to reinstate a worker, and pay $95,000 in back wages, $102,000 in damages, and attorney fees, to an employee terminated for a whistleblower incident. A release from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration says the railroad violated the whistleblower provision of the Federal Railroad Safety Act when it subjected the employee to a hearing that led to the individual’s termination. The employee had reported an unsafe customer gate and on-the-job-injury.
This NEWSWIRE item cries out for more background information as to what the employee was aleged to have done to justify their termination. Can anyone inform us?
I think the missing information is the reason why the employee did not first report the unsafe gate to CSX, and if he did, why did CSX not correct the problem?
First there was an usafe gate. What happened next? That part is missing.
Although CSX won’t outright say it, he was disciplined for getting injured and filing a FELA lawsuit to recover damages. Or maybe just because the injury was severe enough to become a FRA reportable.
I would like more information also. It says a “customer’s gate.” Normally, I would guess the maintenance of that would be up to the customer. I can only guess that he reported some problem with the gate and was told to switch out the customer anyway, requiring operation of the gate and being injured while doing so.
I’ve seen this posted elsewhere, but so far no other details or discussion of what happened.