OSHA Orders Railroad to Pay $615,000 For Violating Whistleblower Provisions

ST. LOUIS—Union Pacific Railroad Co. must pay $615,000 to settle charges it violated the whistleblower provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act, the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Aug. 25.

Separate investigations by OSHA regional offices in Kansas City, Mo., and San Francisco found that Union Pacific violated the FRSA by terminating two employees and suspending one because they reported workplace-safety concerns and a work-related injury, OSHA said in a statement.

OSHA alleged that a Union Pacific conductor based in Kansas City was fired in September 2010 after making repeated complaints to the company’s hotline about safety ...