The U.S. Department of Labor has found that Norfolk Southern Railway Co. has violated the whistleblower protection provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA). An investigation by the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration revealed that the railroad terminated an employee in retaliation for reporting a workplace injury.
The DOL has ordered the company to pay the affected employee more than $300,000 in damages, including $200,000 in punitive damages, $75,000 in compensatory damages and $25,123.40 in attorney’s fees. Additionally, the company must expunge the disciplinary record of the employee as well as post a notice regarding employees’ whistleblower protection rights under the FRSA and provide training to its employees about these rights.
Click here to read the full release from the DOL.
