Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ALI7USTMENT BOARD Award No. 11130
 SECOND DIVISION Docket No. 11162
 2-BN-EW-187
 The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
 addition Referee Ronald Nelson when award was rendered.
 (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
 Parties to Dispute:
 (Burlington Northern Railroad Company

 Dispute: Claim of Employes:

 1. That in violation of the current Agreement, Electritian Aaron V. Linxwiler was unjustly suspended from the service of the Burlington Northern Railroad for a period of twenty (20) days as the result of. an investigation held March 20, 1985. Subject twenty (20) suspension is to begin upon notification Mr. Linxwiler is able to return to duty frcxn medical leave of absence.

 2. That the investigation held March 20, 1985, was not a fair and impartial investigation in that Electrician Linxwiler did not receive the required advance written notice of the full and specific charges for which the investigation was being held and for which he was later disciplined.

 3. That accordingly, the Burlington Northern Railroad be directed not to suspend Mr. Linxwiler frcn its service upon his ability to return to work or, if so suspended, compensate him for any and all wages and benefits lost by him as the result of said suspension and that all record of this investigation and suspension be removed from his personal record.

 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 employes 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.

Claimant, an Electrician with approximately 30 years of service, was assessed a 20 day actual suspension following an Investigation which was originally scheduled for March 11, 1985, and duly postponed until March 20, 1985, because of Claimant's medical condition.
 Form 1 Award No. 11130
 Page 2 Docket No. 11162
 2-BN-EW-187

 On.March 4, 1985, the Carrier sent a,:4i.rective to Claimant instructing him to.attend.an Investigation which was eventually held on March 20, 1985, to determine the Claimant's responsibility for Claimant's failure to report an accic~ent/incident at the .King., Street,-Coach Yard, to Claimant's immediate Supervisor as, soon as possible by.the first available means of catununication, which. .resulted in Claimant being=,:hQ~pitalized on or about February 4, 1985.

 Following tie Investigation,.the,Carrier assessed a 20 day actual suspension_which;wa~s:timely appealed.through all authorized Carrier Officers. On appeal, the..Qrgariization.alleges that the.Carrier's action was arbitrary, capricious, unjust, and an abuse of managerial discretion. The main thrust of the Claimant's appeal is that the Carrier's Notice of the reason for the Investigation was,,not sufficiently precise thus preventing Claimant from preparing an adequate defense to the charges. A subsidiary basis for appeal is the organization's contention that after the facts became known, the Carrier added charges of additional Rule violations in support of its assessment of discipline.

 The record of Claimant's testimony shows that Claimant experienced severe pain to his back, while at hone, on January 31, 1985, and was transported-to a .ho_spital, by fire department ambulance for subsequent admission, on January 31st, which was followed by surgery for a herniated disc. Claimant was released from the hospital on February 11, 1985, and filed a personal injury report with the Carrier on February 24, 1985. The report contains a statement to the effect that Claimant's medical problems are related to working conditions. Claimant also testified that'he made a call to Carrier on February 1, 1985, notifying one of Carrier's Supervisory employees of the reason for Claimant's absence. The record also reflects a contact between the Organization's General Chairman and the Carrier's Assistant General Foreman in which the Organization advised the Carrier that Claimant was hospitalized for the surgical procedure.

 The Carrier premises its disciplinary action on two fundamental facts; first, the Carrier alleges that the period between the onset of the disability and the filing of the personal injury report was not "as soon as possible," and that Claimant led Carrier to believe the Claimant's medical problems were not job-related.

 Fundamental notions of fair play and due process form the basis for the contractual provision which require that the Carrier advise the employee of the charge for which an Investigation is being conducted. See First Division Award No. 19235 and Third Division Award No. 3011. A careful examination of the Carrier's Notice of Investigation does contain the information necessary for the Claimant to prepare his defense. This conclusion is supported by Claimant's own testimony regarding his preparation of a defense.
 Form 1 Award No. 11130
 Page 3 Docket No. 11162
 2-BN-EW-' 87

 The Carrier's requirement that employees report all personal injuries as soon as possible is a reasonable Rule which allows the Carrier to investi= gate any condition capable of causing by ury so that its 'liability may be limited and further. employee exposure to hazardous conditions mad-'be reduced through corrective actions taken by~the Carrier. See Fourth Division Award No. 4199. The Claimant cannot abrogate his responsibility to report a personal injury promptly on the basis of a general ccmnent made by an attending physician to concentrate on getting better and don't worry about the job. The evidence in the record, including the Claimant's own testimony fully supports the Carrier's conclusion that the Claimant failed to ccnply with the Carrier's Rules. The discipline imposed was not arbitrary_,~capricious, unjust, nor an' abuse of managerial discretion.






                            By Order of Second Division


Attest:
        ancy J er - Executive Secretary


                                          ,x_..

Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 14th day of January 1987:

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