49 U.S.C. § 21108 — Pilot projects

Page 618 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 21107 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than April 1, 2010, the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of Labor, shall prescribe reg- ulations to implement subsection (a)(1) to pro- tect the safety and health of any employees and individuals employed to maintain the right of way of a railroad carrier that uses camp cars, which shall require that all camp cars comply with those regulations by December 31, 2010. In prescribing the regulations, the Secretary shall assess the action taken by any railroad carrier to fully retrofit or replace its camp cars pursu- ant to this section. (d) COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT.—The Sec- retary shall determine whether a railroad car- rier has fully retrofitted or replaced a camp car pursuant to subsection (b) and shall prohibit the use of any non-compliant camp car. The Sec- retary may assess civil penalties pursuant to chapter 213 for violations of this section. (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 891; Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, title IV, § 420, Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4893.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 21106 .......... 45:62(a)(3), (4). Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2939, 34 Stat. 1415, § 2(a)(3), (4); added July 8, 1976, Pub. L. 94–348, § 4(a)(3), 90 Stat. 818; June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, § 16(2), 102 Stat. 634. 45:62(e). Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2939, 34 Stat. 1415, § 2(e); added June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, § 19(b)(1), 102 Stat. 638. 45:63a(d) (related to 45:62(a)(3)). Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2939, 34 Stat. 1415, § 3A(d) (related to § 2(a)(3)); added July 8, 1976, Pub. L. 94–348, § 4(d), 90 Stat. 819; June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, § 16(4), 102 Stat. 635. In this section, before clause (1), the words ‘‘and any individuals employed to maintain the right of way of a railroad carrier’’ are substituted for 45:62(e) because of the restatement. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2008—Pub. L. 110–432 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, in par. (1), substituted ‘‘sanitary, give those employees and individuals an op- portunity for rest free from the interruptions caused by noise under the control of the carrier, and provide in- door toilet facilities, potable water, and other features to protect the health of employees;’’ for ‘‘sanitary and give those employees and individuals an opportunity for rest free from the interruptions caused by noise under the control of the carrier;’’, and added subsecs. (b) to (d). § 21107. Maximum duty hours and subjects of col- lective bargaining The number of hours established by this chap- ter that an employee may be required or allowed to be on duty is the maximum number of hours consistent with safety. Shorter hours of service and time on duty of an employee are proper sub- jects for collective bargaining between a rail- road carrier and its employees. (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 891.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 21107 .......... 45:63a(d) (related to 45:64). Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2939, 34 Stat. 1415, § 3A(d) (related to § 4); added July 8, 1976, Pub. L. 94–348, § 4(d), 90 Stat. 819; June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, § 16(4), 102 Stat. 635. 45:64. Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2939, § 4, 34 Stat. 1417; restated Dec. 26, 1969, Pub. L. 91–169, § 1, 83 Stat. 464; June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, § 16(5), 102 Stat. 635. § 21108. Pilot projects (a) IN GENERAL.—As of the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, a railroad carrier or railroad carriers and all non- profit employee labor organizations rep- resenting any class or craft of directly affected covered service employees of the railroad carrier or railroad carriers, may jointly petition the Secretary of Transportation for approval of— (1) a waiver of compliance with this chapter as in effect on the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008; or (2) a waiver of compliance with this chapter as it will be effective 9 months after the enact- ment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, to enable the establishment of one or more pilot projects to demonstrate the possible benefits of implementing alternatives to the strict applica- tion of the requirements of this chapter, includ- ing requirements concerning maximum on-duty and minimum off-duty periods. (b) GRANTING OF WAIVERS.—The Secretary may, after notice and opportunity for comment, approve such waivers described in subsection (a) for a period not to exceed two years, if the Sec- retary determines that such a waiver of compli- ance is in the public interest and is consistent with railroad safety. (c) EXTENSIONS.—Any such waiver, based on a new petition, may be extended for additional pe- riods of up to two years, after notice and oppor- tunity for comment. An explanation of any waiver granted under this section shall be pub- lished in the Federal Register. (d) REPORT.—The Secretary of Transportation shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infra- structure of the House of Representatives, no later than December 31, 2012, or, if no projects are completed prior to December 31, 2012, no later than 6 months after the completion of a pilot project, a report that— (1) explains and analyzes the effectiveness of any pilot project established pursuant to a waiver granted under subsection (a); (2) describes the status of all other waivers granted under subsection (a) and their related pilot projects, if any; and (3) recommends any appropriate legislative changes to this chapter. (e) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘directly affected covered service em- ployees’’ means covered service employees to whose hours of service the terms of the waiver petitioned for specifically apply. Page 619 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 21109 (Added Pub. L. 103–440, title II, § 203(a), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4619; amended Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, title I, § 110, Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4867.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improve- ment Act of 2008, referred to in subsec. (a), is the date of enactment of div. A of Pub. L. 110–432, which was ap- proved Oct. 16, 2008. AMENDMENTS 2008—Pub. L. 110–432 amended section generally, re- vising and restating provisions of former subsec. (a) re- lating to waivers as subsecs. (a) to (c), provisions of former subsec. (b) relating to requirement of a report to Congress as subsec. (d), and provisions of former sub- sec. (c) defining ‘‘directly affected covered service em- ployees’’ as subsec. (e). § 21109. Regulatory authority (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to improve safety and reduce employee fatigue, the Secretary may prescribe regulations— (1) to reduce the maximum hours an em- ployee may be required or allowed to go or re- main on duty to a level less than the level es- tablished under this chapter; (2) to increase the minimum hours an em- ployee may be required or allowed to rest to a level greater than the level established under this chapter; (3) to limit or eliminate the amount of time an employee spends waiting for deadhead transportation or in deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to the place of final release that is considered neither on duty nor off duty under this chapter; (4) for signal employees— (A) to limit or eliminate the amount of time that is considered to be neither on duty nor off duty under this chapter that an em- ployee spends returning from an outlying worksite after scheduled duty hours or re- turning from a trouble call to the employ- ee’s headquarters or directly to the employ- ee’s residence; and (B) to increase the amount of time that constitutes a release period, that does not break the continuity of service and is con- sidered time off duty; and (5) to require other changes to railroad oper- ating and scheduling practices, including un- scheduled duty calls, that could affect em- ployee fatigue and railroad safety. (b) REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE HOURS OF SERVICE OF TRAIN EMPLOYEES OF COMMUTER AND INTERCITY PASSENGER RAILROAD CARRIERS.— Within 3 years after the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the Secretary shall prescribe regulations and issue orders to establish hours of service requirements for train employees engaged in commuter rail passenger transportation and intercity rail pas- senger transportation (as defined in section 24102 of this title) that may differ from the re- quirements of this chapter. Such regulations and orders may address railroad operating and scheduling practices, including unscheduled duty calls, communications during time off duty, and time spent waiting for deadhead trans- portation or in deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to the place of final release, that could affect employee fatigue and railroad safety. (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing regulations under subsection (a) the Secretary shall con- sider scientific and medical research related to fatigue and fatigue abatement, railroad sched- uling and operating practices that improve safe- ty or reduce employee fatigue, a railroad’s use of new or novel technology intended to reduce or eliminate human error, the variations in freight and passenger railroad scheduling practices and operating conditions, the variations in duties and operating conditions for employees subject to this chapter, a railroad’s required or vol- untary use of fatigue management plans cov- ering employees subject to this chapter, and any other relevant factors. (d) TIME LIMITS.— (1) If the Secretary determines that regula- tions are necessary under subsection (a), the Secretary shall first request that the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee develop proposed regulations and, if the Committee accepts the task, provide the Committee with a reasonable time period in which to complete the task. (2) If the Secretary requests that the Rail- road Safety Advisory Committee accept the task of developing regulations under sub- section (b) and the Committee accepts the task, the Committee shall reach consensus on the rulemaking within 18 months after accept- ing the task. If the Committee does not reach consensus within 18 months after the Sec- retary makes the request, the Secretary shall prescribe appropriate regulations within 18 months. (3) If the Secretary does not request that the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee accept the task of developing regulations under sub- section (b), the Secretary shall prescribe regu- lations within 3 years after the date of enact- ment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. (e) PILOT PROJECTS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Im- provement Act of 2008, the Secretary shall conduct at least 2 pilot projects of sufficient size and scope to analyze specific practices which may be used to reduce fatigue for train and engine and other railroad employees as follows: (A) A pilot project at a railroad or railroad facility to evaluate the efficacy of commu- nicating to employees notice of their as- signed shift time 10 hours prior to the begin- ning of their assigned shift as a method for reducing employee fatigue. (B) A pilot project at a railroad or railroad facility to evaluate the efficacy of requiring railroads who use employee scheduling prac- tices that subject employees to periods of unscheduled duty calls to assign employees to defined or specific unscheduled call shifts that are followed by shifts not subject to call, as a method for reducing employee fa- tigue.