§11326 — Title 49 Transportation | U.S. Code

Summary

When a railroad asks the Board to approve a sale, merger, or similar deal under sections 11324 or 11325, the Board must make the railroad give workers protections that are at least as strong as the older federal rules (including the rules in section 5(2)(f) of the Interstate Commerce Act before February 5, 1976, and section 24706(c)). The carrier and the workers’ official representative can agree on the arrangement. The deal must make sure affected employees are not worse off at work because of the transaction for 4 years after the Board’s final decision (or for a shorter time if the worker had been employed less than 4 years before the decision). 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 worker’s railroad earnings in the 12 months before the application was filed, and it must be reduced by any railroad earnings the worker gets from the buying carrier during the 12 months after the transaction takes effect. If the transaction involves only Class III carriers, these rules do not apply.

Title 49, §11326

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as otherwise provided in this section, when approval is sought for a transaction under section 11324 and 11325 of this title, the Board shall require the rail carrier to provide a fair arrangement at least as protective of the interests of employees who are affected by the transaction as the terms imposed under section 5(2)(f) of the Interstate Commerce Act before February 5, 1976, and the terms established under section 24706(c) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title. Notwithstanding this part, the arrangement may be made by the rail carrier and the authorized representative of its employees. The arrangement and the order approving the transaction must require that the employees of the affected rail carrier will not be in a worse position related to their employment as a result of the transaction during the 4 years following the effective date of the final action of the Board (or if an employee was employed for a lesser period of time by the rail carrier before the action became effective, for that lesser period).

(b)When approval is sought under section 11324 and 11325 for a transaction involving one Class II and one or more Class III rail carriers, there shall be an arrangement as required under subsection (a) of this section, except that such arrangement shall be limited to one year of severance pay, which shall not exceed the amount of earnings from the railroad employment of that employee during the 12-month period immediately preceding the date on which the application for approval of such transaction is filed with the Board. The amount of such severance pay shall be reduced by the amount of earnings from railroad employment of that employee with the acquiring carrier during the 12-month period immediately following the effective date of the transaction. The parties may agree to terms other than as provided in this subsection.

(c)When approval is sought under section 11324 and 11325 for a transaction involving only Class III rail carriers, this section shall not apply.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 5(2)(f) of the Interstate Commerce Act, referred to in subsec. (a), was classified to section 5(2)(f) of former Title 49, Transportation, prior to repeal and reenactment as section 11347 of this title by Pub. L. 95–473, Oct. 17, 1978, 92 Stat. 1439. section 11347 of this title was subsequently omitted in the general amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, § 102(a). section 24706(c) of this title, referred to in subsec. (a), was repealed by Pub. L. 105–134, title I, § 142(a), Dec. 2, 1997, 111 Stat. 2576.

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 11347 of this title prior to the general amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, § 102(a).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided in Pub. L. 104–88, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 1301 of this title.

§11326 Employee Protective Arrangements in Transactions Involving Rail Carriers