Parties
 to the VS. Case No. 9

 Dispute
 BURLINGTON NORTHERN RAILROAD COMPANY









      Claimant M.B. Mattson was employed by Carrier as a Foreman at the time of the incident that prompted this case.On April 11, 1984, Claimant suffered an on-duty injury to his lower back. He was out of work for about five months. On September 4, 1984, Claimant was returned to his Foreman position with instructions from his doctor that he

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could not lift more than 20 pounds and then only occasionally. Claimant worked this job until August 1, 1985, when he was granted a leave of absence to have back surgery.
 Surgery was performed on September 5, 1985, and on June 9, 1986, Claimant's physician released him for work as a Foreman, effective July 1, 1986. Claimant's doctor stated at this time that Claimant could not lift over 20 or 30 pounds on an occasional basis and he could not perform work that required twisting and bending of the lower back.
 Carrier refused to return Claimant to duty on the basis that there was no job in the Maintenance of Way Department with such restrictions. It stated that Foremen were not just Supervisors who stood and watched, but were working Foremen and often were required to push and haul heavy materials to help the men with a heavy task. Petitioner objected to Carrier's description of a Foreman's duties. It argued that the Agreement describes a Foreman as follows:

      B. Foreman


        An employe assigned to direct the work of men and reporting to officials of. the railroad shall be classified as a foreman.


Petitioner concluded that, based on that description, an employe working as a Foreman did not have to lift heavy
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items and Claimant could clearly perform the required duties. Carrier argued, however, that the statement in the Agreement was not a job description that outlined the Foreman's complete duties. It submitted a job description to the Claimant's doctor for review. It then requested the doctor to reevaluate and state if Claimant was physically capable of performing the duties outlined. The doctor did not affirm that Claimant could perform the duties as outlined in the job description. The pertinent part of a Track Foreman's and a Track Inspector's job description reads as follows:

    TRACK FOREMAN


    Foreman directs the work of his assigned crew and performs and assists in all tasks associated with the installation of new track and the maintenance of existing track. It is an extremely strenuous job that can require constant physical and manual effort.


    Most of the work is manual labor assisted by power equipment where available. A foreman may be required to assist in manually loading or unloading material kegs (200lbs. or more), crossties (250 lbs. or more) and rails (1,820 lbs. or more), which are needed for the job. To secure the rail to the ties, foremen and trackmen drive spikes and anchors with mauls (6 or 8 lbs.).


        PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:


        Overall Strength Job can beclassified

        as very heavy work.

        Requires occasional

        lifting and carrying

        of heavy loads as

        described above.

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    Coordination Balance required

    while assisting in the

    loading and unloading

    of materials and

    distributing ballast

    from moving cars.

    Constantly stoops and

    kneels while spot

    raising track and to

    check surface of track.

    Range of Motion Bending over rail to

    raise track, reaching

    required to give hand

    signals or directions

    while aligning track,

    etc. Some twisting

    and stooping required

    as part of job.


TRACK INSPECTOR
Track Inspector is an employee assigned the responsibility for the proper inspection of tracks, roadway and the right-of-way on his district(s). He must meet all requirements of the position per FRA Rule 213.7.

 Inspection must be made on foot and/or by riding over the track in a vehicle at a speed that allows the person making the inspection to visually inspect the track structure for compliance with BN Standards. He must be able to make corrections to deviations found or prescribe appropriate remedial action to correct or safely compensate for those deviations.

    PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:


    Overall Strength Job can be classified

    as hard work. Requires

    setting hi-rail on

    track each day which

    can amount to 100 lbs.

    lifting pressure on

    hi-rail assembly gear.

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                        5


                          Must be able to lift angle bars from ground to vehicle and vehicle to ground (75 lbs. or more). Must be able to use a track wrench to tighten track bolts, switch braces, etc.


        Coordination Balance required

        while loading or

        unloading tools and

        angle bars. Must

        be able to handle

        switch stands to

        make reverse throws,

        checking switch

        points for proper

        gap, ease of movement,

        etc.

        Range of Motion Variety of motions

        required such as;

        setting hi-rail vehicle

        on or off track,

        lining switches to

        check proper throws

        and fits which is a

        twisting motion,

        stooping or banding

        over the rail to

        check surface and

        alignment of track,

        bridge ends and

        switches.


This Board has reviewed the aosition of each side and it concludes that the job.description submitted by Carrier far more realistically describes what a Track Foreman does than the description of a Foreman contained in Rule 55 (B).

    Given this conclusion, are are compelled to decide that

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      Carrier need not return Claimant to work until it is satisfied that Claimant can properly perform his duties without threat of injury to himself or to others working around him. This Board can find no basis in the record for directing Carrier to return Claimant to work at this time.


                            AWARD


                      The claim is denied.


                r.Jw!f

                RDennis, Neutral Member


        tuce Glover, Employe Member Maxine Timberman, Carrier Member


      Date Approval