§11326 Employee Protective Arrangements in Transactions Involving Rail Carriers

Summary

When a rail transaction needs Board approval under sections 11324 and 11325, the Board must make the railroad provide a fair plan that protects workers at least as well as the older rules in effect before February 5, 1976 and the rules in section 24706(c). The railroad and the employees’ authorized representative may make the plan together. The plan and the Board’s approval must make sure affected employees are not worse off in their jobs because of the transaction for 4 years after the Board’s final action (or for a shorter time if the employee had worked for the railroad less than 4 years). If the deal is between one Class II carrier and one or more Class III carriers, the protection is limited to one year of severance pay. That severance cannot be more than the employee’s railroad pay in the 12 months before the application, and it must be reduced by any railroad pay the employee gets from the acquiring carrier in the 12 months after the transaction takes effect. If the transaction involves only Class III carriers, these rules do not apply.