CHICAGO – Union Pacific violated federal law when it terminated conductors and locomotive engineers on the basis of perceived disability, used unlawful qualification standards to screen out individuals with disabilities, and subjected the employees to unlawful medical examinations and inquiries, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims in a lawsuit filed against the railroad on Monday.
UP regularly requires its conductors and locomotive engineers to take vision tests, including tests of color vision, that are required by the Federal Railroad Administration. UP also required employees to pass the railroad’s own “light cannon” test. The test does not replicate real world conditions or accurately assess whether someone can identify the color of railway signals, the EEOC said in its lawsuit.
The employees all passed an initial color vision screening test prior to being required to take the light cannon test or provided medical documents confirming they did not have a color vision deficiency that would have prevented them from doing their jobs.
However, when they failed the light cannon test, UP removed them from their positions, put them on indefinite leave, and effectively fired them, despite having successfully performed as conductors or locomotive engineers for years, the EEOC claims. UP also required some to undergo inappropriate medical examinations and questioning.
EEOC says the railroad’s practices violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, which makes it unlawful to discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota after first attempting to reach a settlement. The EEOC seeks reinstatement, back pay, compensatory and punitive damages as well as changes to Union Pacific policies and practices.
“Everyone wants railroads to be safe,” said Gregory Gochanour, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Chicago District. “However, firing qualified, experienced employees for failing an invalid test of color vision does nothing to promote safety, and violates the ADA.”
The suit was filed on behalf of 21 former workers. It’s the first case the government filed in what could eventually be hundreds of lawsuits over the way UP disqualified people with a variety of health issues.
The cases were once going to be part of a class-action lawsuit that the railroad estimated might include more than 7,000 workers who had to undergo what is called a “fitness-for-duty” review between 2014 and 2018, The Associated Press reported.
Union Pacific refused to enter into settlement talks with the EEOC. The railroad has said it was necessary to disqualify workers to ensure safety because it believed they had trouble seeing colors or developed health conditions that could lead to them becoming incapacitated.
“It is critical for the safety of our employees and communities where we operate that conductors and locomotive engineers correctly see and interpret the various signals that direct train movement,” railroad spokeswoman Kristen South told The AP.
Then UP has to whine about how they can’t hire or retain employees as excuses to their customers.
““It is critical for the safety of our employees and communities where we operate that conductors and locomotive engineers correctly see and interpret the various signals that direct train movement,” railroad spokeswoman Kristen South told The AP.”
And Ms South, that is why the EEOC is suing UP because you tried to use an un- accepted test by the FRA to get rid of people you didn’t want to have to take care of long term. Of course that was all done under the auspices of Mr. Penny Pincher himself, Lance Fritz. Now that he and others of his ilk are gone, maybe we won’t have to see these kind of ridiculous end runs around government EEOC regulations any more as a way of eliminating people from their jobs to save a buck or two and hit the sacred Golden Calf of Wall Street, the Lowest of low Operating Ratio’s.
My color blind father lasted about an hour at his first railroad job as a teenage relief operator at the Milwaukee’s Burlington, WI Tower that guarded the R&SW Crossing with the Soo Line. The levers were color coded red, green and blue. He kept locking up the plant by trying to throw them in the wrong order.
It’s time to abolish the federal government. Long past time.
Charley, enough, already!
Yes, Charles, that was a little over the top. What would you have in its place? A monarchy, or a European style Monarchy-Prime Minister? They don’t work well either if you have paid any attention to the countries of the European Union or those who chose not to participate and have fumbled along from one crisis to another. Maybe you would prefer an oligarchy such as the one Vladimir Putin and the Chinese keep foisting on their people.
As bad as the US Two party system is currently, it is based on an agreed upon Constitution by the several states and is still the best government going in the world. Most people would quit the two major parties and join a moderates party right now if that was an option. But it is not so until it is, we just have to keep on exercising our civic duty and pushing our illustrious legislators to do what is right for the majority without squashing the minority. They have to be made to remember that our government is BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE. Sometimes (most times?) that is a hard concept for them to grasp. And now, back to railroadmainia…
Wow Charles and why don’t you tell us how you think that would work out or maybe we could model ourselves after Russia. They have one man government. That seems to be popular with lots of folks these days.
Oh Charles why don’t you just storm Congress and tell them what to do to appease you and your Orange Messiah, oh by the way he lost biggly.
No Charles, we need people in Congress to pass a term limit for their jobs, a mandatory retirement age, and to elect people who are willing to work across the aisle to work for the American people, not their party. We also need to recognize the CNN, FNC, and MSNBC are nothing more than political hacks. Lets have real newsmen deliver the news, not opinions.
A co-worker had tried to hire with the Reading Company as a brakeman. They gave him a color vision test. All went well until they showed him a color light that was neither red nor yellow. It looked orange. He guessed and was wrong and failed the test.
Turned out they had put both the red and orange discs in front of the light and it WAS orange.
We concluded they had someone else in mind for the job.
Of course it was an improperly displayed signal and meant stop and contact the dispatcher for authority to proceed.