Business Week reports that “federal officials say Union Pacific Corp. should pay $612,215 for retaliating against three employees.” The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that UP violated the rights of two conductors and an engineer for reporting workplace safety concerns and a work-related injury. OSHA also says that these violations “seem to be a part of a pattern…because two other instances of retaliation were found in 2001 and 2011.”
Union Pacific has been ordered to train employees and managers on the rights of whistle-blowers. The spokesman for the railroad said they will appeal though, because OSHA ignored some facts and details of UP’s employment contracts.
Assistant Secretary for OSHA Dr. David Michaels said, “Union Pacific Railroad has created climate of fear instead of a climate of safety. The company must take immediate steps to change this unacceptable pattern of retaliation.”
