[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 456 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 456

 To amend chapter 211 of title 49, United States Code, with respect to 
    hours of service of railroad employees, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 21, 1997

  Mr. Ackerman (for himself, Mr. Dellums, Mr. Evans, and Ms. Norton) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend chapter 211 of title 49, United States Code, with respect to 
    hours of service of railroad employees, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Commuter Rail Safety Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. HOURS OF SERVICE.

    Section 21103 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon;
            (3) by adding after paragraph (2) of subsection (a) the 
        following new paragraphs:
            ``(3) after that employee has completed a tour of duty, 
        unless that employee has had at least 8 consecutive hours of 
        undisturbed rest; and
            ``(4) unless that employee has received at least 8 hours 
        notice before the time for reporting for duty, except in the 
        event of an emergency, in which case the employee may not be 
        required to work for more than 8 hours after reporting for 
        duty.''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(d) Commuter Rail Split Shifts.--A railroad carrier and its 
officers and agents may not require or allow a commuter rail train 
employee to operate a split shift unless that shift begins between 4:00 
a.m. and 8:00 a.m.
    ``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `commuter rail' has the meaning given the 
        term `commuter rail passenger transportation' in section 24102 
        of this title;
            ``(2) the term `split shift' means a regularly assigned 
        work shift which includes an interim period off duty of at 
        least 4 hours;
            ``(3) the term `tour of duty' means an employee's shift on 
        duty of 8 hours or more, including a shift of consecutive hours 
        and a shift that encompasses an interim period off duty of at 
        least 4 but not more than 8 hours; and
            ``(4) the term `undisturbed rest' means a period during 
        which the employing rail carrier and its officers and agents do 
        not communicate with an employee, except for one communication 
        described in subsection (a)(4).''.

SEC. 3. ACCIDENT AND INJURY REPORTING.

    (a) Discharge and Discrimination Protection.--Section 20109 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) as 
        subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(c) Accident and Injury Information.--A railroad carrier engaged 
in interstate or foreign commerce, and an employee of such a railroad 
carrier, may not discharge or in any way discriminate against an 
employee because the employee has furnished information to the railroad 
carrier, the Federal Railroad Administration, or any other appropriate 
Federal or State agency, as to the facts incident to any accident or 
injury occurring in connection with rail transportation.''.
    (b) Penalties.--
            (1) Civil penalties.--Section 21302(a)(1) of title 49, 
        United States Code, is amended by striking ``a regulation 
        prescribed or order issued under chapter 201 of this title'' 
        and inserting in lieu thereof ``chapter 201 of this title or a 
        regulation prescribed or order issued under chapter 201''.
            (2) Criminal penalties.--Section 21311 of title 49, United 
        States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(c) Accident and Injury Information.--A person shall be fined 
under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both, if the 
person knowingly and willfully violates section 20109(c).''.
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