Chamberlin
Chamberlin v. BNSF Railway Company
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
JOHN CHAMBERLIN,
Case No. 22-cv-00005-RS Plaintiff, 11 v. ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS
BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY,
13 Defendant.
15 Plaintiff John Chamberlin is a locomotive engineer employed by defendant BNSF Railway Company. In 2017, Chamberlin filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) alleging BNSF violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act, 49 U.S.C. §§ 20109 et seq. (“FRSA”), by disciplining him in retaliation for reporting a safety issue. Under the FRSA, an employee has a right to “kick out” his or her claims to federal court if the Secretary of Labor “has not issued a final decision within 210 days after the filing of the complaint and if the delay is not due to the bad faith of the employee.” 49 U.S.C. § 20109(d)(3). Chamberlin’s right to bring this suit accrued in February of 2018, as there had been no decision on his OSHA complaint at that point. In…