FELA, or the Federal Employment Liability Act assures railroad employees a safe work place and gives them and their families the right to recover compensation if injured in a railroad related accident. Under FELA, injured employees can seek compensation for wage loss, future wage loss, medical expenses and treatments, pain and suffering, and for partial or permanent disability. All railroad solvent exposure lawsuits have been filed under FELA.
Leadership vacuum delays FELA solution
FELA is the federal law that provides injured railroad workers compensation for their damages. FELA, or the Federal Employer Liability Act, was passed by Congress in 1908 and has remained virtually unchanged for almost 100 years. FELA is a worker's compensation system that is remarkably different from other worker's compensation laws. The FELA requires that an injured worker prove that their employer's negligence contributed to the injuries they sustained on the job. Claims can be settled out of court- and the majority are- or settlements may be awarded through a jury verdict. The FELA was established in this way to protect the rights of railroad workers who are exposed to constant dangers in the workplace, and to compel railroad employers to institute adequate safety policies to protect their employees.
The FELA has been a controversial law ever since its inception, as railroad employers, employee representatives (such as labor unions) and political entities have grappled with proposed changes to the FELA. Some groups feel that any changes made to the existing law would compromise employee rights. Some support FELA but wish to see provisions made. Still others staunchly advocate a major overhaul of the FELA to make it resemble no-fault worker's compensation laws. Approximately every decade, a new bill passes through Congress in an attempt to revise the FELA, and thus far every bill has been struck down.
Railroad companies are generally in favor of changes to the FELA law that would reduce the amount of damages that an injured employee could seek through the implementation of no-fault worker's compensation for the railroad industry. Most labor unions, employees, trial lawyers, and Congressman feel that, while the FELA may not be perfect, any changes made in the direction of a no-fault system would compromise employee rights.
Railroad companies, and others which have a similar view of the FELA, cite a few major reasons why FELA negotiations have failed thus far. Some groups claim that poor labor relations between employee representatives and employers are to blame. They claim that employees distrust railroad companies to find an equitable alternative to the FELA and believe that FELA promotes better railroad safety policies. FELA adversaries blame the political strength of labor unions for past failures to amend or repeal the FELA.
Some interest groups suggest that more of an effort should be made by all parties to explore mutually acceptable alternatives to the FELA. They suggest that employees should be assured that changes to the FELA would not compromise injury rehabilitation and equitable compensation. They also suggest that railroad workers receive quality benefits similar to the most generous state plans. They also urge all sides to consider a plan which would ultimately benefit both employers and employees, with net savings re-allocated for improved safety and better labor relations. People with a vested interest in the fate of the FELA vary widely in their perspective on this controversial worker's rights law that, above all, exists to provide fair compensation for workers in one of the most dangerous industries in our country.
For more information on FELA, please contact us to confer with a personal injury lawyer.