Form 1 NATIONAL RAIIROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No. 8493
SECOND DIVISION Docket No.
8254
2-MP-CM-'80
The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee David H. Brown when award was rendered.
( Brotherhood Railway Carmen of the United
( States and Canada
Parties to Dispute:
(
( Missouri Pacific Railroad Company
Dispute: Claim of Employes:
1. That the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company violated Rule 32 of the
controlling Agreement and Article
6
of the Conditions of
Employment
when they withheld Carman R. B. Hess from service for special medical
examination from January 3,
1978
until January
13, 1978.
2. That the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company be ordered to compensate
Carman R. B. Hess for eight (8) hours at the pro rata rate for
January
9,
10, 11, and 12,
1978.
Findings:
The Second Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the whole record and all
the evidence, finds that:
The carrier or carriers and the employe or employes involved in this dispute
are respectively carrier and employe within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act:
as approved June 21,
1934.
This Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over the dispute
involved herein.
Parties to said dispute waived right of appearance at hearing thereon.
On November 11,
1977,
Claimant, a carman at Carrier's Barton Street mechanical
facility in St. Louis, was marked off duty because of personal illness. On
January
3, 1978,
he reported to the Barton Street Shop with a statement from
his personal physician certifying that he was released to return to duty on
Monday, January
9.
Claimant was instructed by Carrier to report to the Sutter
Clinic for medical examination on January 4. Claimant did so, and the examination
was conducted as scheduled. The results of such examination were forwarded to
Dr. E. T. Rouse, Carrier's Chief Medical Officer, who received the reports.
Dr. Rouse reviewed the file and approved Claimant's return to work on the 12th;
however, the authorization was not received in time to permit Claimant to work
on such day, and he was not allowed to work until January
13.
He seeks pay for
time lost on January
9,
10, 11 and 12.
The Agreement does not specify how long Carrier may take to return an
employee to duty under circumstances such as those before us. It is uniformly
conceded that a carrier has a reasonable time to conduct its own examination
of an employee returning from medical leave and to evaluate the results of
F orm 1
Pa ge 2
Award No .81+93
Docket No. 8254
2-MP-CM-'8o
such examination. The decisions of this Division hold that, in the absence of
unusual circumstances, a five (5) day period allows a carrier an adequate
amount of time for evaluation of medical data where there are no complications.
In our Award No. 8113, which resolved a dispute between the instant
parties, we held:
"In the absence of complications or the requirement for
unusual testing, the Board finds that the five-day limit
began with the day following the examination..."
The award further makes clear that the five days are to be working days
available to the medical officer. Therefore, in the dispute before us:
The examination took place on Wednesday, January 4. The five working days
would be Thursday the 5th, Friday the 6th, Monday the 9th, Tuesday the loth and
Wednesday the 11th. Carrier was obligated to restore Claimant to duty on
January 12,
1978.
His claim is good for that day only.
A W A R D
Claim sustained to the extent indicated above.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Second Division
Attest: Executive Secretary
National Railroad Adjustment Board
By--~C..~
osemarie Brasch - Administrative Assistant
Date at Chicago, Illinois, this 5th day of November,
1980.