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Post Info TOPIC: NJT to pay $500,000 for whistleblower violation


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NJT to pay $500,000 for whistleblower violation
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NJT to pay $500,000 for whistleblower violation
NEWARK, N.J. -- A whistleblower investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that New Jersey Transit violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act when it retaliated against an employee for reporting a work-related illness.

According to OSHA's findings, in February 2008, the railroad brought an employee up on charges for missing work after suffering a work-related illness from witnessing a fatal accident involving another worker. The railroad also retaliated against the worker by cutting his pay and then suspending him. These retaliatory acts caused the employee significant financial and personal losses. The employee filed a whistleblower complaint with OSHA, alleging that the railroad had retaliated against him for reporting his work-related illness. OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program conducted an investigation under the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA, found merit to the complaint and ordered relief.

"Railroad employees have the legal right to report work-related injuries and illnesses without fear of retaliation," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "This case sends a clear message: Railroads that retaliate against employees for exercising their rights will be held accountable."

As a result of its findings, OSHA has ordered New Jersey Transit to take corrective actions, including expunging disciplinary actions taken against the employee and references to them from various records as well as compensating the worker for back pay, lost benefit payments, interest, compensatory damages and attorneys' fees totaling almost $500,000. In addition, OSHA has ordered the railroad to pay the complainant $75,000 in punitive damages. The railroad must also post and provide its employees with information on their FRSA whistleblower rights.

New Jersey Transit and the complainant have 30 days from receipt of the findings to file an appeal with the Labor Department's Office of Administrative Law Judges. Under the FRSA, employees of a railroad carrier and its contractors and subcontractors are protected against retaliation for reporting on-the-job injuries and illnesses, as well as reporting certain safety and security violations and cooperating with investigations by OSHA and other regulatory agencies.

OSHA enforces the whistleblower protection provisions of the FRSA and 16 other whistleblower statutes protecting employees who report violations of various workplace safety, securities, trucking, airline, nuclear power, pipeline, environmental, public transportation and consumer product safety laws. Detailed information is available online at http://www.osha.gov/dep/oia/whistleblower/index.html.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Note: The Labor Department does not release names of employees involved in whistleblower complaints.

(The preceding release appeared on the Web site www.prnewswire.com on April 7, 2010.)

April 7, 2010


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NJ Transit faces $570,000 whistleblower fine for punishing worker

(The following story by Mike Frassinelli appeared on The Star-Ledger website on April 7, 2010.)

NEWARK, N.J. Tony Araujo couldnt sleep the night after he watched the contractor burn to death at work.

The New Jersey Transit conductor flagman said he wanted to return immediately to the only kind of work he had known for 21 years, but mental health professionals determined he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and needed time off.

He soon would go through another kind of nightmare, the kind sleep cant cure.

Araujos boss did not take kindly to the determination by the mental health professionals, suspending him without pay and wrongly blaming him for the death of the electrocuted contractor, according to an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations Whistleblower Office.

Araujo was awarded nearly $570,000 in damages today, a record for a case stemming from a 3-year-old federal law designed to break rail managements culture of retaliation against workers who report injuries or safety violations, his lawyer said.

The OSHA investigation found NJ Transit exhibited "reckless disregard" for the Federal Rail Safety Act and "complete indifference" to the rights of Araujo.

"It was an uphill battle, but today is vindication," Araujo said.

NJ Transit was given 30 days to file objections and request a hearing before an administrative law judge.

The agency, through spokeswoman Penny Bassett Hackett, released only a 13-word statement: "We are reviewing the findings and are considering all of our appeal options."

Araujo was deemed unable to work after he was sent for counseling and found to have PTSD from witnessing a 13,000-volt explosion on Feb. 25, 2008, that killed a New Jersey Department of Transportation contractor working in an NJ Transit right-of-way near the Seventh Avenue Bridge in Newark.

Araujo, 40, was working with an outside contracting crew on New Jersey Transits Morristown line at the Roseville Interlocking. The linemen, not Araujo, were responsible for monitoring the overhead wires, according to the OSHA Whistleblower Department. Two linemen were disciplined.

Had company officials suspected that Araujo contributed to the accident, they were required by federal law to test him for drugs and alcohol, lawyer Charlie Goetsch said.

They didnt.

But an NJ Transit superintendent the next day called the Employee Assistance Program to complain about Araujos lost-time reportable injury, and soon after filed disciplinary charges claiming that Araujo contributed to the fatal incident by violating electrical operating instructions.

The railroad denied Araujos benefits and suspended him without pay for almost a year, causing his credit rating to plummet, his car to be repossessed and the bank to foreclose on his home, Goetsch said.

"I lost it all," Araujo said. "Theres not much more I could lose."
Araujo was medically cleared to return to work on Oct. 6, 2008, but wasnt allowed to return from his suspension until Feb. 20, 2009.

OSHAs Whistleblower Office found NJ Transit violated the Federal Rail Safety Act and ordered the payment of nearly $570,000 in damages, including punitive damages and damages for ruining Araujos credit.

He was to be compensated nearly $500,000 for back pay, lost benefit payments and attorney fees, and $75,000 in punitive damages.

"In the past, railroads were free to discipline employees without having to worry about paying economic damages beyond limited back pay," Goetsch said. "Those days are now over."

"This has been the worst two years of my life," Araujo said. "Its been very traumatic, and I just want to move forward."

Thursday, April 08, 2010



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