PUBLIC LAW BOARD NO. 7544
Rall Conferenc6 )
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sooLine Radroad Company{CP) )
CaseNo.71
Awarcl No. 7i
Systent Fll•No• D-229-16-580-16
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on December 12, 201&, thecarrter Issued todalmant P. Palermo a noticeof formal lnvestfaatlon and hearing. The notice stated.111 part, the followln1t
"The purpose of this lnvestiption/heartnsisto determine thefacts and circumstances and to place respamlblllty,.If any, Jn connection withyour alleged handJtng of derails wttflout u.slrtgcthe proper PPton November 29•, 2016,.Thls Tndlcates a·
posstbte violation of, but Isnot.Umlted to, the fc:,llowfn1 rules:
GCOR1.1,1. Mafntalnlnaa Safe coyrg.
En11neerrn.Safety BYlt::D.. Personal Protectlye Cfotbln1amt Eaulpmer«'
On February 27, 2017, the Investigation and he1nfn1convened Wherein Claimant and his representative presented testimony and two(2) exhibits and examined the Carrier's witness and five (SI exhibits.
On April 6, 2017, the General Roadmasterfssued a declslon·letterstatlngthattherecordof the
proceeding establllihed Claimant's vlolatloh of the tolfowln&rulest
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> GCOR 1.1 • Malnta1nfn1 a Saff CoMut
> Enl(neertnc Safety Rul• Personal ProtectlYt Cfothln1amt Equipment
eased on theevtdentlarv record, severity of the Incident and Claimant's disciplinary history; thecarrier assessed Claimant dlsclpllne of ten (10) days of whichfive (S) days were served and five{S}days were deferred.
On March 17, 2017, the Organization and.the Carrier agreed to progress Claimants disclpDne dispute for resolution before this Board usln1theabbreviated procedure provided for In Paragraph (I<) of the PLB Agreement.
FJndlrip
PlBNo. 7544
Case No. 73 AwardNo.7l
Public Law Board No. 7544, upon thewhole record and alltheevld•nce, finds that the parties herein are earner and Emploves within themeaningof theRallwa-,Labor Ad.. u amended; that the Soard has Jurisdiction overcthedlSpute herein; andthat.thepartleSta the dfspute were glven due notice of the hearing anddid partldpab?thereln.
q>nslstent with the PLB Agrt!ement for this Board; the evldentlary record u, this proceeding fs comprised of tha following: (A) noticeof Investigation, (BJ transcript oflnvestlgat!onandallrelatedexhibits, (C) discipline assessmentlettet and(D) on-property corresponde relatedto progression ottheclaim.
Claim.mt has ovet" two(2) yearsof.service wl thecarrrer as a machine operator and material truck,
handler; On November 29, 2016, the Manager- MachlneOperator Quallflcatfonsobserved Claimant not
•artns his stoves whenheunlocked·andflipped thegriphandle onanewlv.fnstalfed,permanent derall. Claimant hadremoved hisBfoves because he was unablato retritWe thekey for unlockln9 the derail from his pocket with theglc>w onhishand, Approxlmately two (2). seconds elapsed.between unlocking thederail and fllpplna rt without wearinggloves. Safety Rule e-16 mandates weaflnga leather-palmed
gfovewhen handling machined steet, 1nm or othennaterlalssuchasa derail. After Claimant fllpp$dthe deraH, the Manager approached andadvised htmto wear his gloves Inthis situation. Claimant. promptly acknowledged andcomplied With theinstr\lCtlon andwore his gloveasheflipped the next Oi!f!lil,
The Soard recognrzes that safety lsp mount 111the rail rndustryand notesctalmant!scompllancewlth Rule 8.20, Derail Position and Location, and para8"fphs 9,10and 11 Inthe Englneerlnf 5afety Handbook. The Board also notesthedifference In thesubstance of thecharged rules allegedly violated by Clalm;mt andthose listed in the decfslOn fetter by.CP as violated. Although discretion and latitude
resld•wlth CP.ln determlnlna the rulesaltegedlyvlolatedand rules actually violated,thedifferences lo
this proceedlngiani of sucha naturethat It couldhave been, but wasnot, problematic for the Organization's preparatfon and presentation of Claimant's defense. Given thepeculiar circumstances In this proceeding, the Board finds thatthe assessed dlsdpllneof a fl {5) day.served suspettsion and 5- day deferred St1spenslon tsnotcorrective but punltfv•, The 5-day served suspension Is resdnded and the five(Sl day <teferred suspension lsaffirmed.
Claimant Isassessed a five (5) day deferred suspension.
-AnthonyMosso
carrier Member
Patrick Halter Neutral Member
Ryan Hidalgo Organization Member
PLBNo, 7544
Case No. 73.
Award No. 7!
