CSX Whistleblower Appeal Upends Railway Safety Law Precedent (1)

A federal appeals court in Manhattan revived a former CSX Transportation Inc. train conductor’s whistleblower lawsuit in a decision that also clarified the scope of employment safeguards for railway workers who report safety or security concerns.

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Tuesday vacated a district judge’s finding that conductor Cody Ziparo failed to establish that he was intentionally fired for reporting two CSX supervisors who allegedly pressured him to falsely boost production numbers in work logs to increase their chances at getting higher bonuses.

CSX maintained that it terminated Ziparo for failing to realign a ...