Title 49
PART 228 APPENDIX A
Scheduled Hours | Classification |
---|---|
7 a.m. to 3 p.m | 1 shift. |
7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Schedule for one employee including one hour lunch period) | Do. |
7 a.m. to 3 p.m. 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Two employees scheduled) | Do. |
7 a.m. to 3 p.m. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Two employees scheduled) | 2 shifts. |
Duty time and effective periods of release. If, after reporting to his place of duty, an employee is required to perform duties at other places during this same tour of duty, the time spent traveling between such places is considered as time on duty. Under the traditional administrative interpretation of section 3, other periods of transportation are viewed as personal commuting and, thus, off-duty time.
A release period is considered off-duty time if it provides a meaningful period of relaxation and if the employee is free of all responsibilities to the carrier. One hour is the minimum acceptable release period for this type of covered service.
Emergencies. The section of the Act dealing with dispatchers, operators, and others who transmit or receive train orders contains its own emergency provision. In case of emergency, an employee subject to the 9 or 12-hour limitation is permitted to work an additional four hours in any 24-hour period, but only for a maximum of three days in any period of seven consecutive days. However, even in an emergency situation the carrier must make reasonable efforts to relieve the employee.
General Provisions (applicable to all covered service)Commingled Service. All duty time for a railroad even though not otherwise subject to the Act must be included when computing total on-duty time of an individual who performs one or more of the type of service covered by the Act. This is known as the principle of “commingled service”.
For example, if an employee performs duty for 8 hours as a trainman and then is used as a trackman (not covered by the law) in the same 24-hour period, total on-duty time is determined by adding the duty time as trackman to that as trainman. The law does not distinguish treatment of situations in which non-covered service follows, rather than precedes, covered service. The limitations on total hours apply on both cases. It should be remembered that attendance at required rules classes is duty time subject to the provisions on “commingling”. Similarly, where a carrier compels attendance at a disciplinary proceeding, time spent in attendance is subject to the provisions on commingling.
When an employee performs service covered by more than one restrictive provision, the most restrictive provision determines the total lawful on-duty time. Thus, when an employee performs duty in train or engine service and also as an operator, the provisions of the law applicable to operators apply to all on-duty and off-duty periods during such aggregate time. However, an employee subject to the 12 hour provision of section 2 of the law does not become subject to the 9 or 12-hour provisions of section 3 merely because he receives, transmits or delivers orders pertaining to or affecting the movement of his train in the course of his duties as a trainman.
Casualties, Unavoidable Accidents, Acts of God. Section 5(d) of the Act states the following: “The provisions of this Act shall not apply in any case of casualty or unavoidable accident or the Act of God; nor where the delay was the result of a cause not known to the carrier or its officer or agent in charge of the employee at the time said employee left a terminal, and which could not have been foreseen.” This passage is commonly referred to as the “emergency provision”. Judicial construction of this sentence has limited the relief which it grants to situations which are truly unusual and exceptional. The courts have recognized that delays and operational difficulties are common in the industry and must be regarded as entirely foreseeable; otherwise, the Act will provide no protection whatsoever. Common operational difficulties which do not provide relief from the Act include, but are not limited to, broken draw bars, locomotive malfunctions, equipment failures, brake system failures, hot boxes, unexpected switching, doubling hills and meeting trains. Nor does the need to clear a main line or cut a crossing justify disregard of the limitations of the Act. Such contingencies must normally be anticipated and met within the 12 hours. Even where an extraordinary event or combination of events occurs which, by itself, would be sufficient to permit excess service, the carrier must still employ due diligence to avoid or limit such excess service. The burden of proof rests with the carrier to establish that excess service could not have been avoided.
Sleeping Quarters. Under the 1976 amendments to the Act it is unlawful for any common carrier to provide sleeping quarters for persons covered by the Hours of Service Act which do not afford such persons an opportunity for rest, free from interruptions caused by noise under the control of the railroad, in clean, safe, and sanitary quarters. Such sleeping quarters include crew quarters, camp or bunk cars, and trailers.
Sleeping quarters are not considered to be “free from interruptions caused by noise under the control of the railroad” if noise levels attributable to noise sources under the control of the railroad exceed an Leq(8) value of 55dB(A).
Collective Bargaining. The Hours of Service Act prescribes the maximum permissible hours of service consistent with safety. However, the Act does not prohibit collective bargaining for shorter hours of service and time on duty.
Penalty. As amended by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 1988 and the Rail Safety Enforcement and Review Act of 1992, the penalty provisions of the law apply to any person (an entity of any type covered under 1 U.S.C. 1, including but not limited to the following: a railroad; a manager, supervisor, official, or other employee or agent of a railroad; any owner, manufacturer, lessor, or lessee of railroad equipment, track, or facilities; any independent contractor providing goods or services to a railroad; and any employee of such owner, manufacturer, lessor, lessee, or independent contractor), except that a penalty may be assessed against an individual only for a willful violation. See appendix A to 49 CFR part 209. For violations that occurred on September 3, 1992, a person who violates the Act is liable for a civil penalty, as the Secretary of Transportation deems reasonable, in an amount not less than $500 nor more than $11,000, except that where a grossly negligent violation or a pattern of repeated violations has created an imminent hazard of death or injury to persons, or has caused death or injury, a penalty not to exceed $22,000 may be assessed. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 required agencies to increase the maximum civil monetary penalty for inflation. The amounts increased from $10,000 to $11,000 and from $20,000 to $22,000 respectively. According to the same law, in 2004, the minimum penalty of $500 was raised to $550, and the maximum penalty for a grossly negligent violation or a pattern of repeated violations that has caused an imminent hazard of death or injury to individuals or has caused death or injury, was increased from $22,000 to $27,000. The $11,000 maximum penalty was not adjusted. Effective October 9, 2007, the ordinary maximum penalty of $11,000 was raised to $16,000 as required under law. Effective March 2, 2009, the minimum penalty, ordinary maximum penalty and aggravated maximum penalty were raised again. The minimum penalty was increased from $550 to $650 pursuant to the law's requirement. Meanwhile, the ordinary maximum penalty was increased from $16,000 to $25,000 and the aggravated maximum was increased from $27,000 to $100,000 in accordance with the authority provided under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. Meanwhile, the ordinary maximum penalty was increased from $16,000 to $25,000 and the aggravated maximum was increased from $27,000 to $100,000 in accordance with the authority provided under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. See sec. 302, Div. A, Public Law 110-432, 122 Stat. 4848, 4878, Oct. 16, 2008; 49 U.S.C. 21301-21303. Effective June 25, 2012, the aggravated maximum penalty was raised from $100,000 to $105,000 pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990. Public Law 101-410, 104 Stat. 890, 28 U.S.C. 2461, note, as amended by Sec. 31001(s)(1) of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321-373, Apr. 16, 1996. Pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, effective August 1, 2016, the minimum penalty was raised from $650 to $839, the ordinary maximum penalty was raised from $25,000 to $27,455, and the aggravated maximum penalty was raised from $105,000 to $109,819. See Public Law 114-74, Sec. 701, November 2, 2015. Under the 2015 Inflation Act, effective April 3, 2017, the minimum civil monetary penalty was raised from $839 to $853, the ordinary maximum civil monetary penalty was raised from $27,455 to $27,904, and the aggravated maximum civil monetary penalty was raised from $109,819 to $111,616. Effective November 27, 2018, the minimum civil monetary penalty was raised from $853 to $870, the ordinary maximum civil monetary penalty was raised from $27,904 to $28,474, and the aggravated maximum civil monetary penalty was raised from $111,616 to $113,894. Effective July 31, 2019, the minimum civil monetary penalty was raised from $870 to $892, the ordinary maximum civil monetary penalty was raised from $28,474 to $29,192, and the aggravated maximum civil monetary penalty was raised from $113,894 to $116,766. Effective January 11, 2021, the minimum civil monetary penalty was raised from $892 to $908, the ordinary maximum civil monetary penalty was raised from $29,192 to $29,707, and the aggravated maximum civil monetary penalty was raised from $116,766 to $118,826.
Each employee who is required or permitted to be on duty for a longer period than prescribed by law or who does not receive a required period of rest represents a separate and distinct violation and subjects the railroad to a separate civil penalty. In the case of a violation of section 2(a)(3) or (a)(4) of the Act, each day a facility is in noncompliance constitutes a separate offense and subjects the railroad to a separate civil penalty.
In compromising a civil penalty assessed under the Act, FRA takes into account the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation committed, and, with respect to the person found to have committed such violation, the degree of culpability, any history of prior or subsequent offenses, ability to pay, effect on ability to continue to do business and such other matters as justice may require.
Statute of limitations. No suit may be brought after the expiration of two years from the date of violation unless administrative notification of the violation has been provided to the person to be charged within that two year period. In no event may a suit be brought after expiration of the period specified in 28 U.S.C. 2462.
Exemptions. A railroad which employs not more than 15 persons covered by the Hours of Service Act (including signalmen and hostlers) may be exempted from the law's requirements by the FRA after hearing and for good cause shown. The exemption must be supported by a finding that it is in the public interest and will not adversely affect safety. The exemption need not relate to all carrier employees. In no event may any employee of an exempt railroad be required or permitted to work beyond 16 hours continuously or in the aggregate within any 24-hour period. Any exemption is subject to review at least annually.
[42 FR 27596, May 31, 1977, as amended at 43 FR 30804, July 18, 1978; 53 FR 28601, July 28, 1988; 55 FR 30893, July 27, 1990; 58 FR 18165, Apr. 8, 1993; 61 FR 20495, May 7, 1996; 63 FR 11622, Mar. 10, 1998; 69 FR 30594, May 28, 2004; 72 FR 51197, Sept. 6, 2007; 73 FR 79703, Dec. 30, 2008; 76 FR 67092, Oct. 31, 2011; 77 FR 24421, Apr. 24, 2012; 81 FR 43111, July 1, 2016; 82 FR 16134, Apr. 3, 2017; 83 FR 60748, Nov. 27, 2018; 84 FR 37074, July 31, 2019; 86 FR 1758, Jan. 11, 2021]