Title 49

SECTION 225.25

225.25 Recordkeeping.

§ 225.25 Recordkeeping.

(a) Each railroad shall maintain either the Railroad Employee Injury and/or Illness Record (Form FRA F 6180.98) or an alternative railroad-designed record as described in paragraph (b) of this section of all reportable and accountable injuries and illnesses of its employees for each railroad establishment where such employees report to work, including, but not limited to, an operating division, general office, and major installation such as a locomotive or car repair or construction facility.

(b) The alternative railroad-designed record may be used in lieu of the Railroad Employee Injury and/or Illness Record (Form FRA F 6180.98) described in paragraph (a) of this section. Any such alternative record shall contain all of the information required on the Railroad Employee Injury and/or Illness Record. Although this information may be displayed in a different order from that on the Railroad Employee Injury and/or Illness Record, the order of the information shall be consistent from one such record to another such record. The order chosen by the railroad shall be consistent for each of the railroad”s reporting establishments. Railroads may list additional information on the alternative record beyond the information required on the Railroad Employee Injury and/or Illness Record. The alternative record shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:

(1) Name of railroad;

(2) Case/incident number;

(3) Full name of railroad employee;

(4) Date of birth of railroad employee;

(5) Gender of railroad employee;

(6) Employee identification number;

(7) Date the railroad employee was hired;

(8) Home address of railroad employee; include the street address, city, State, ZIP code, and home telephone number with area code;

(9) Name of facility where railroad employee normally reports to work;

(10) Address of facility where railroad employee normally reports to work; include the street address, city, State, and ZIP code;

(11) Job title of railroad employee;

(12) Department assigned;

(13) Specific site where accident/incident/exposure occurred; include the city, county, State, and ZIP code;

(14) Date and time of occurrence; military time or AM/PM;

(15) Time employee's shift began; military time or AM/PM;

(16) Whether employee was on premises when injury, illness, or condition occurred;

(17) Whether employee was on or off duty;

(18) Date and time when employee notified company personnel of condition; military time or AM/PM;

(19) Name and title of railroad official notified;

(20) Description of the general activity this employee was engaged in prior to the injury/illness/condition;

(21) Description of all factors associated with the case that are pertinent to an understanding of how it occurred. Include a discussion of the sequence of events leading up to it; and the tools, machinery, processes, material, environmental conditions, etc., involved;

(22) Description, in detail, of the injury/illness/condition that the employee sustained, including the body parts affected. If a recurrence, list the date of the last occurrence;

(23) Identification of all persons and organizations used to evaluate or treat the condition, or both. Include the facility, provider and complete address;

(24) Description of all procedures, medications, therapy, etc., used or recommended for the treatment of the condition.

(25) Extent and outcome of injury or illness to show the following as applicable:

(i) Fatality - enter date of death;

(ii) Restricted work; number of days; beginning date;

(iii) Occupational illness; date of initial diagnosis;

(iv) Instructions to obtain prescription medication, or receipt of prescription medication;

(v) If one or more days away from work, provide the number of days away and the beginning date;

(vi) Medical treatment beyond “first aid”;

(vii) Hospitalization for treatment as an inpatient;

(viii) Multiple treatments or therapy sessions;

(ix) Loss of consciousness;

(x) Transfer to another job or termination of employment;

(xi) Significant injury or illness of a railroad employee;

(xii) Needlestick or sharps injury to a railroad employee, medical removal of a railroad employee, occupational hearing loss of a railroad employee, occupational tuberculosis of a railroad employee, or musculoskeletal disorder of a railroad employee which musculoskeletal disorder is reportable under one or more of the general reporting criteria.

(26) Each railroad shall indicate if the Railroad Injury and Illness Summary (Continuation Sheet) (FRA Form F 6180.55a) has been filed with FRA for the injury or illness. If FRA Form F 6180.55a was not filed with FRA, then the railroad shall provide an explanation of the basis for its decision.

(27) The reporting railroad shall indicate if the injured or ill railroad employee was provided an opportunity to review his or her file; and

(28) The railroad shall identify the preparer's name; title; telephone number with area code; and the date the record was initially signed/completed.

(c) Each railroad shall provide the employee, upon request, a copy of either the completed Railroad Employee Injury and/or Illness Record (Form FRA F 6180.98) or the alternative railroad-designed record as described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section as well as a copy of forms or reports required to be maintained or filed under this part pertaining to that employee's own work-related injury or illness.

(d) Each railroad shall maintain the Initial Rail Equipment Accident/Incident Record (Form FRA F 6180.97) or an alternative railroad-designed record as described in paragraph (e) of this section of reportable and accountable collisions, derailments, fires, explosions, acts of God, or other events involving the operation of railroad on-track equipment, signals, track, or track equipment (standing or moving) that result in damages to railroad on-track equipment, signals, tracks, track structures, or roadbed, including labor costs and all other costs for repairs or replacement in kind for each railroad establishment where workers report to work, including, but not limited to, an operating division, general office, and major installation such as a locomotive or car repair or construction facility.

(e) The alternative railroad-designed record may be used in lieu of the Initial Rail Equipment Accident/Incident Record (Form FRA F 6180.97). Any such alternative record shall contain all of the information required on the Initial Rail Equipment Accident/Incident Record. Although this information may be displayed in a different order from that on the Initial Rail Equipment Accident/Incident Record, the order of the information shall be consistent from one such record to another such record. The order chosen by the railroad shall be consistent for each of the railroad's reporting establishments. Railroads may list additional information in the alternative record beyond the information required on the Initial Rail Equipment Accident/Incident Record. The alternative record shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:

(1) Date and time of accident;

(2) Reporting railroad, and accident/incident number;

(3) Other railroad, if applicable, and other railroad's accident/incident number;

(4) Railroad responsible for track maintenance, and that railroad's incident number;

(5) Type of accident/incident (derailment, collision, etc.);

(6) Number of cars carrying hazardous materials that derailed or were damaged; and number of cars carrying hazardous materials that released product;

(7) Division;

(8) County and nearest city or town;

(9) State;

(10) Milepost (to the nearest tenth);

(11) Specific site;

(12) Speed (indicate if actual or estimate);

(13) Train number or job number;

(14) Type of equipment (freight, passenger, yard switching, etc.);

(15) Type of track (main, yard, siding, industry);

(16) Total number of locomotives in train;

(17) Total number of locomotives that derailed;

(18) Total number of cars in train;

(19) Total number of cars that derailed;

(20) Total amount of damage in dollars to equipment based on computations as described in the “FRA Guide for Preparing Accidents/Incidents Reports”;

(21) Total amount of damage in dollars to track, signal, way and structures based on computations as described in the “FRA Guide for Preparing Accidents/Incidents Reports”;

(22) Primary cause;

(23) Contributing cause;

(24) Persons injured, persons killed, and employees with an occupational illness, broken down into the following classifications: worker on duty - employee; employee not on duty; passenger on train; nontrespasser - on railroad property; trespasser; worker on duty - contractor; contractor - other; worker on duty - volunteer; volunteer - other; and nontrespasser-off railroad property;

(25) Narrative description of the accident;

(26) Whether the accident/incident was reported to FRA;

(27) Preparer's name, title, telephone number with area code, and signature; and

(28) Date the record was initially signed/completed.

(f) Each railroad shall enter each reportable and accountable injury and illness and each reportable and accountable rail equipment accident/incident on the appropriate record, as required by paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section, as early as practicable but no later than seven working days after receiving information or acquiring knowledge that an injury or illness or rail equipment accident/incident has occurred.

(g) The records required under paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section may be maintained at the local establishment or, alternatively, at a centralized location. If the records are maintained at a centralized location, but not through electronic means, then a paper copy of the records that is current within 35 days of the month to which it applies shall be available for that establishment. If the records are maintained at a centralized location through electronic means, then the records for that establishment shall be available for review in a hard copy format within four business hours of FRA's request. FRA recognizes that circumstances outside the railroad's control may preclude it from fulfilling the four-business-hour time limit. In these circumstances, FRA will not assess a monetary penalty against the railroad for its failure to provide the requested documentation provided the railroad made a reasonable effort to correct the problem.

(h) Except as provided in paragraph (h)(15) of this section, a listing of all injuries and occupational illnesses reported to FRA as having occurred at an establishment shall be posted in a conspicuous location at that establishment, within 30 days after the expiration of the month during which the injuries and illnesses occurred, if the establishment has been in continual operation for a minimum of 90 calendar days. If the establishment has not been in continual operation for a minimum of 90 calendar days, the listing of all injuries and occupational illnesses reported to FRA as having occurred at the establishment shall be posted, within 30 days after the expiration of the month during which the injuries and illnesses occurred, in a conspicuous location at the next higher organizational level establishment, such as one of the following: an operating division headquarters; a major classification yard or terminal headquarters; a major equipment maintenance or repair installation, e.g., a locomotive or rail car repair or construction facility; a railroad signal and maintenance-of-way division headquarters; or a central location where track or signal maintenance employees are assigned as a headquarters or receive work assignments. These examples include facilities that are generally major facilities of a permanent nature where the railroad generally posts or disseminates company informational notices and policies, e.g., the policy statement in the internal control plan required by § 225.33 concerning harassment and intimidation. At a minimum, “establishment” posting is required and shall include locations where a railroad reasonably expects its employees to report during a 12-month period and to have the opportunity to observe the posted list containing any reportable injuries or illnesses they have suffered during the applicable period. This listing shall be posted and shall remain continuously displayed for the next twelve consecutive months. Incidents reported for employees at that establishment shall be displayed in date sequence. The listing shall contain, at a minimum, the information specified in paragraphs (h)(1) through (14) of this section.

(1) Name and address of the establishment;

(2) Calendar year of the cases being displayed;

(3) Incident number used to report case;

(4) Date of the injury or illness;

(5) Location of incident;

(6) Regular job title of employee injured or ill;

(7) Description of the injury or condition;

(8) Number of days employee absent from work at time of posting;

(9) Number of days of work restriction for employee at time of posting;

(10) If fatality - enter date of death;

(11) Annual average number of railroad employees reporting to this establishment;

(12) Preparer's name, title, telephone number with area code, and signature (or, in lieu of signing each establishment's list of reportable injuries and illnesses, the railroad's preparer of this monthly list may sign a cover sheet or memorandum which contains a list of each railroad establishment for which a monthly list of reportable injuries and illnesses has been prepared. This cover memorandum shall be signed by the preparer and shall have attached to it a duplicate copy of each establishment's list of monthly reportable injuries and illnesses. The preparer of the monthly lists of reportable injuries and illnesses shall mail or send by facsimile each establishment's list to the establishment in the time frame prescribed in paragraph (h) of this section.); and

(13) Date the record was completed.

(14) When there are no reportable injuries or occupational illnesses associated with an establishment for that month, the listing shall make reference to this fact.

(15) The railroad is permitted not to post information on an occupational injury or illness that is a privacy concern case.

(i) Claimed occupational illnesses. (1) Each railroad may maintain a Form FRA F 6180.107, “Alternative Records for Illnesses Claimed to be Work-Related,” or an alternate railroad-designed record as described in paragraph (j) of this section, in place of Form FRA F 6180.98, “Railroad Employee Injury and/or Illness Record,” only for those claimed occupational illnesses for which the railroad has not received information sufficient to determine whether the occupational illness is work-related.

(2) Each railroad shall enter each illness claimed to be work-related on the appropriate record, as required by paragraph (i)(1) of this section, as early as practicable, but no later than seven working days after receiving information or acquiring knowledge that an employee is claiming they have incurred an occupational illness.

(3) When a railroad does not receive information sufficient to determine whether a claimed occupational illness case is accountable or reportable, the railroad shall make a good faith effort to obtain the necessary information by December 1 of the next calendar year.

(4) Within 15 calendar days of receiving additional information regarding a claimed occupational illness case, each railroad shall document receipt of the information, including date received and type of document/information received, in narrative block 19 of Form FRA F 6180.107, “Alternative Record for Illnesses Claimed to be Work-Related.”

(5) Within 45 calendar days of receiving additional information regarding a claimed occupational illness, each railroad shall re-evaluate the claimed occupational illness to determine work-relatedness, taking into account the new information, and document any findings resulting from the re-evaluation in narrative block 19 of Form FRA F 6180.107, “Alternative Record for Illnesses Claimed to be Work-Related.”

(6) For any claimed occupational illness case determined to be accountable or reportable, each railroad shall:

(i) Complete a Form FRA F 6180.98, “Railroad Employee Injury and/or Illness Record” or alternative railroad-designed form within seven days of making such determination;

(ii) Retain the Form FRA F 6180.98, “Railroad Employee Injury and/or Illness Record,” in accordance with § 225.27; and

(iii) Report the occupational illness, as applicable, in accordance with § 225.11.

(7) For any claimed occupational illness case determined not to be accountable or reportable, each railroad shall include the following information in narrative block 19 of Form FRA F 6180.107, “Alternative Record for Illnesses Claimed to be Work-Related” or alternative railroad-designed form:

(i) Why the case does not meet reporting criteria;

(ii) The basis upon which the railroad made this determination; and

(iii) The most authoritative information the railroad relied upon to make the determination.

(8) Although Form FRA 6180.107, “Alternative Record for Illnesses Claimed to be Work-Related” (or the alternate railroad-designed form), may not include all supporting documentation, such as medical records, the alternative record shall note the custodian of those documents and where the supporting documents are located so that they are readily accessible to FRA upon request.

(j) An alternative railroad-designed record may be used in lieu of the Form FRA F 6180.107, “Alternative Record for Illnesses Claimed to be Work-Related.” Any such alternative record shall contain all of the information required on the Form FRA F 6180.107. Although this information may be displayed in a different order from that on Form FRA F 6180.107, the order of the information shall be consistent from one such record to another such record. The order chosen by the railroad shall be consistent for all of the railroad's reporting establishments. Railroads may list additional information in the alternative record beyond the information required on Form FRA F 6180.107. The alternative record shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:

(1) Name of Reporting Railroad;

(2) Case/Incident Number;

(3) Employee's Name (first, middle, last);

(4) Employee's Date of Birth (mm/dd/yy);

(5) Employee's Gender;

(6) Employee Identification Number;

(7) Date Employee was Hired (mm/dd/yy);

(8) Employee's Home Address (include street address, city, State and Zip code);

(9) Employee's Home Telephone Number (with area code);

(10) Name of Facility Where Railroad Employee Normally Reports to Work;

(11) Location, or Last Know Facility, Where Employee Reports to Work;

(12) Job Title of Railroad Employee;

(13) Department to Which Employee is Assigned;

(14) Date on Which Employee or Representative Notified Company Personnel of Condition (mm/dd/yy);

(15) Name of Railroad Official Notified;

(16) Title of Railroad Official Notified;

(17) Nature of Claimed Illness;

(18) Supporting Documentation;

(19) Custodian of Documents (Name, Title, and Address);

(20) Location of Supporting Documentation;

(21) Narrative;

(22) Preparer's Name;

(23) Preparer's Title;

(24) Preparer's Telephone Number (with area code); and

(25) Date the record was initially signed/completed (mm/dd/yy).

[61 FR 30970, June 18, 1996, as amended at 61 FR 59371, Nov. 22, 1996; 61 FR 67491, Dec. 23, 1996; 68 FR 10139, Mar. 3, 2003; 75 FR 68907, Nov. 9, 2010]

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