The Board, upon the whole record and on the evidence, finds that the parties herein are Carrier and Employees within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act, as amended; that this Board is duly constituted by agreement of the parties; that the Board has jurisdiction over the dispute, and that the parties were given due notice of the hearing.
Claimant was dismissed from service by decision letter dated March 17, 2006 as a result of his operation of a tamper eastbound at near Mile Post 84.2 on the Vicksburg Subdivision. According to the record, instead of operating his tamper to avoid damaging trackside equipment, claimant prematurely dropped his rail clamps onto scanning equipment. The detectors were torn from their supporting brackets. In addition, the rail clamps of the tamper were damaged. At the time of the incident, claimant had more than 30 years of railroad service. He also had more than 5 years of service operating the tamper in question.
However,,the unique mitigating circumstances ofthis record call for a modification ofthe discipline. Subjectto successfully passing the Carrier's usual requirements forretuming to work after extended absence, Carrier is directed to offer Claimant reinstatement to his former employment status with seniority and other rights associated with that status unimpaired but without back pay or other economic benefits attributed to his time out of service.
