Long Island, NY - March 7, 2018 - U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice today called on Administrator Ronald Batory of the Federal Railroad Administration to investigate New York & Atlantic Railway’s (NYAR) workplace safety measures in light of concerning allegations that untrained workers performed critical tasks, potentially putting themselves and commuters in harm’s way. In a letter sent to Administrator Batory this morning, Rice wrote:
“In February, a group of day laborers filed a lawsuit against NYAR, claiming they were tasked with carrying out dangerous jobs without adequate training, certification or safety equipment. Working along the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)—the nation’s busiest commuter rail carrying approximately 301,000 customers each weekday—these workers claim they were not prepared to fix track switches, repair rails, or lift derailed freight trains back onto the rails.
“These allegations are concerning and it is critical that FRA again review NYAR’s workplace conditions to ensure lessons were learned after the 2016 report. Employees must be confident that they will only be asked to do work for which they are trained so they do not put their health and safety at risk. Commuters must be confident that the tracks their trains use every day are safe.”
The full text of the letter is available here.