Public Law Board No. 4161
Parties to Dispute
Brotherhood of Maintenance of )
Way Employees ) Case No. 7
vs ) Award No. 6
Burlington Northern Railroad )
STATEMENT OF CLAIM
1. The dismissal of Track Laborer L. R. Williams for
alleged violation of Burlington Northern Safety
Rules No. 665 and 667 was unwarranted and in
violation of the Agreement.
2. The Claimant shall be reinstated to service with
seniority and all other benefits unimpaired, his
record cleared of the charges levied against him
and be compensated for all wage loss suffered.
FINDINGS
The Claimant was advised to attend an investigation on October
6, 1981 to determine facts and place responsibility, if any, in
connection with his alleged failure to protect his assignment as aSectionman from September 10, 1981 and thereafter. The notice of
the investigation was sent out on September 28, 1981 and carbon
copies were sent to all appropriate Organization members. The
investigation was held as scheduled with the Claimant _in absentia.
On November 2, 1981 the Claimant was notified that he had
been found guilty as charged and he was discharged from service.
The Carrier's Rules at bar which the Claimant allegedly violated
were the following ones, in pertinent part:
Rule 665: Employees must report for duty at the designated
time and place ...they must not absent themselves
from duty, exchange duties, or substitute others in
their place without proper authority.
_z-
Public Law Board No. 4161 (Award No. 6; Case No. 7)
Rule 667: Employees must comply with instructions from
proper authority.
The discipline was appealed by the Organization on property up to
and including the highest Carrier officer designated to hear such
before this case was docketed before this Public Law Board for final
adjudication.
A review of the record shows that the Claimant simply did not
cover his assignment after September 10, 1981 and was, therefore,
indisputably in violation of the Rules at bar. Nor is there evidencein the record that,the Claimant attempted to apprise the Carrier in
any way the reasons, in order that their validity might be tested,
for his absence from work. In effect, the record warrants the conclusion that the Claimant abandonned his employment with the Carrier.
On merits, the instant claim cannot be sustained.
AWARD
Claim denied.
E and L. Suntrup, Neu ra Member
. Gv-W
B. W. otter, ~ar er~
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j5-Karl P. Knutsdn; Emplo-yee- Member
Date:·Jo ?//sj`~v
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