"Claim of the System Committee of the Organization (GL-11202) that:

1. The Carrier acted in an arbitrary, capricious and unjust manner in

violation of Rule 24 of the Agreement when, by notice of September

29, 1994, it assessed discipline of `Termination from Service'

against Claimant Henry Hill, pursuant to an investigation held on

September 20, 1994.

2. The Carrier shall now reinstate Claimant to service with seniority

rights unimpaired and compensate Claimant an amount equal to

what she could have earned, including but not limited to daily

wages, holiday pay and overtime, had discipline not been assessed.

3. The Carrier shall now expunge the charges and discipline from

Claimant's record.

4. Carrier shall now reimburse Claimant for any amounts paid by him

for medical, surgical or dental expenses to the a:tent that such

payments would be payable by the current insurance provided by

Carrier."

The carrier or carriers and the employee or employees involved in this dispute are respectively carrier and employee 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 were given due notice of hearing thereon.

Prior to his dismissal. Claimant was a part-time Reservation Sales Agent at Carrier's Western Reservation Sales Office. His seniority date was August 20, 1993. On August 31, 1994, he was notified to report for an Investigation in connection with the following charge:

"Violation of Rule `F' part I and `F' part 3 of the Amtrak Rules of Conduct in that on August 10, 1994, while on duty as a Reservation Sales Agent at the Western Reservation Sales Office you allegedly provided false information to Amtrak caller Jammie Steward when you advised her that train 28 had been discontinued, and then you went on to tell her that her ten year old daughter had been kicked of the train due to a ticket problem. You told Ms. Steward that you were only joking thus causing anguish, pain and suffering to the caller and a loss of goodwill toward Amtrak."

A Hearing was held on September 20, 1994. By letter of September 29, 1994, Claimant was dismissed from service.

A careful reading of the transcript in this case reveals that the bulk of the evidence against Claimant is Ms. Steward's original written complaint and live testimony (via telephone) during the September 24, 1994 Investigatory Hearing. The candor and consistency of her testimony is in sharp contrast to the Claimant's protestations that she must have "misunderstood" him. Claimant's misguided attempt at humor in the situation was anything but humorous. He caused the mother of a minor passenger considerable concern, imperiled the Carrier's reputation, and demonstrated as appalling lack of judgment.

AWARD