Upon the whole record and all the evidence, the Board finds that the parties herein are carrier and employee within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act, as amended. Further, the Board is duly constituted by Agreement, has jurisdiction of the Parties and of the subject matter, and the Parties to this dispute were given due notice of the hearing thereon. The Carrier wrote Claimant on February 18, 2004, advising him he was suspended
Claimant readily admitted brat he took the backhoe home on the day after Christmas and returned it on January 5, 2004, Me pled lack of judgment and pledged to repay Carrier one month's rental fee of $1115.00. He did disagree with the January 9 date set forth in the Investigation notice as he had returned the machine on January 5, 2004, but the fact remains, he used Carrier equipment for his own personal use without authority.
Claimant hired out February, 1981, and since that time he has been assessed a formal reprimand (In 1999) for a failure to properly line a switch and nothing else. In addition to the formal reprimand, he has received two letters of quality performance'
Dismissal under these circumstances is too harsh for a 23 year employee with such a record. What he did was thoughtless and could easily have resulted in permanent dismissal.
Claimant has been out of work since February 18, 2004. The money he has 1081 surely would more than pay for the rental of a unit on his own since he obviously know how to operate the machine, or pay an outside contractor to do that which he wanted to have done. Claimant has learned the hard way the penalty for using company equipment for his own personal gain.
Considering all the factors, Claimant's record and his candor in this matter, this Board will reinstate Claimant to service with all his seniority but without pay for time lost. AWARD