CSX Transportation Faces Narrowed Retaliation Suit From Resignee

CSX Transportation Inc. narrowed a Federal Railroad Safety Act retaliation suit from a former employee who says he was forced to resign after an injury, but the company could still face punitive damages.

The railroad company failed to clearly prove that but for the employee’s injury report, it wouldn’t have disciplined him for later failures to follow safety rules, the US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia ruled.

Eric Boatright doesn’t contest that he broke some of CSX’s rules—mainly not taking the safest route to fix a gasket, and taking extended breaks at work—but contends that CSX over-disciplined ...