Train Conductor’s FRSA Retaliation Action Not Barred by RLA Grievance, 6th Cir. Says

A Norfolk Southern Railway Co. train conductor who alleged that he was suspended after reporting a work-related injury can bring a Federal Railroad Safety Act retaliation lawsuit even though he already had arbitrated the dispute under provisions of the Railway Labor Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Feb. 18 (Norfolk S. Ry. v. Perez, 2015 BL 40790, 6th Cir., 14-3274, 2/18/15).

The Sixth Circuit denied Norfolk Southern’s petition to review a decision by the Labor Department’s Administrative Review Board affirming that Marcus Kruse’s participation in mandatory arbitration didn’t trigger the FRSA’s election-of-remedies provision, ...