SPECIAL BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT NO. 924
Award No.
97
Docket No. 97
PARTIES: Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes
TO
DISPUTE: Chicago and North Western Transportation Company
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: "Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood
that:
(1) The ten (10) day suspension assessed Trackman S. Smith was
without just and sufficient cause and on the basis of an
unproven charge. [Organization File 2D-4823; Carrier File 8185-2-D]
(2) Trackman S. Smith is entitled to the remedy as prescribed in
Rule 19(d)."
FINDINGS:
This Board, upon the whole record and all the evidence, finds
and holds that the employes and the Carrier involved are respectively
employes and Carrier within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act as
amended and that the Board has jurisdiction over the dispute herein.
On August 11, 1984, Claimant sustained an on-the-job injury when
he tripped, stumbled, and fell against a rail. Claimant subsequently
was directed to attend a formal investigation of the charge:
Your responsibility for failure to perform your duties in a safe
manner, resulting in personal injury to yourself, while employed
as a trackman at Mile Post 63.95, Carlisle, Iowa on the Trenton
Subdivision, on August 11, 1984.
The investigation was held as scheduled, and a copy of the transcript
has been made a part of the record. We find that the investigation
was conducted in a fair and impartial manner.
This Board has reviewed the evidence and testimony in this case,
and we find that there is insufficient evidence to support the
Carrier's finding that the Claimant failed to perform his duties in a
safe manner.
The record is clear that the Claimant tripped and fell, causing
qaY
Acu
n g-7
an injury to his leg. However, the Carrier has not produced any
evidence to support its contention that the Claimant had failed to
look out for his own safety or failed to be careful prior to his
accident. .The fact that someone trips and incurs an injury is not
sufficient evidence to show that an individual was not abiding by
carrier rules or was failing to perform his duties in a safe manner.
Accidents do happen; and if the Carrier wants to impose discipline for
them, it must present probative evidence that the Claimant was in some
way negligent or failed to perform his duties in a safe manner. Such
proof is lacking in this record, and we therefore must sustain the
claim.
Award:
Claim sustained.
rri r Member
Date:
Chairman, Neutral
Tr
Employee Member