§21103 — Title 49 Transportation | U.S. Code

Summary

Railroads must limit how much time train employees spend working or traveling for work. An employee cannot spend more than 276 hours in a month on duty, waiting for deadhead rides, riding deadhead from a duty assignment to final release, or doing other required service. No one may be on duty more than 12 hours in a row. Employees must have at least 10 hours off in each 24‑hour period before going back on duty. They may not start an on‑duty day after working 6 days in a row unless they then get at least 48 hours off at their home terminal; a seventh day is allowed in one limited case (if the sixth day ended away from home), but then the worker must get 72 hours off at home. A 7‑day work rule can also apply only if a collective bargaining agreement or an approved pilot program specifically allows it (including certain agreements during the 18 months after the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 or pilot programs described in law). Monthly caps of 40 hours and 30 hours apply to time spent waiting for or in deadhead travel (the law lists exceptions for delays caused by accidents, derailments, major equipment failures, acts of God, or other unforeseeable causes). Carriers must report instances when employees exceed those deadhead limits. Wreck or relief‑train crews may work up to 4 extra hours in a 24‑hour period during an emergency until the track is cleared. During required off time (the 10 hours off, certain 4‑hour rest periods, or any extra off time allowed), carriers must not contact employees in ways that could reasonably disturb their rest, except to notify them of an emergency. The Secretary may waive that no‑contact rule for commuter or intercity passenger railroads if doing so won’t reduce safety. Defined terms (short): on duty — from report for duty until finally released; deadhead to assignment — travel to start work; deadhead from assignment to final release — travel after work that is treated differently for duty counting; interim period — a break period between duty times (may count as on duty or not depending on length and location).

Title 49, §21103

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, a railroad carrier and its officers and agents may not require or allow a train employee to—

(1)remain on duty, go on duty, wait for deadhead transportation, be in deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to the place of final release, or be in any other mandatory service for the carrier in any calendar month where the employee has spent a total of 276 hours—

(A)on duty;

(B)waiting for deadhead transportation, or in deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to the place of final release; or

(C)in any other mandatory service for the carrier;

(2)remain or go on duty for a period in excess of 12 consecutive hours;

(3)remain or go on duty unless that employee has had at least 10 consecutive hours off duty during the prior 24 hours; or

(4)remain or go on duty after that employee has initiated an on-duty period each day for—

(A)6 consecutive days, unless that employee has had at least 48 consecutive hours off duty at the employee’s home terminal during which time the employee is unavailable for any service for any railroad carrier except that—

(i)an employee may work a seventh consecutive day if that employee completed his or her final period of on-duty time on his or her sixth consecutive day at a terminal other than his or her home terminal; and

(ii)any employee who works a seventh consecutive day pursuant to subparagraph (i) shall have at least 72 consecutive hours off duty at the employee’s home terminal during which time the employee is unavailable for any service for any railroad carrier; or

(B)except as provided in subparagraph (A), 7 consecutive days, unless that employee has had at least 72 consecutive hours off duty at the employee’s home terminal during which time the employee is unavailable for any service for any railroad carrier, if—

(i)for a period of 18 months following the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, an existing collective bargaining agreement expressly provides for such a schedule or, following the expiration of 18 months after the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, collective bargaining agreements entered into during such period expressly provide for such a schedule;

(ii)such a schedule is provided for by a pilot program authorized by a collective bargaining agreement; or

(iii)such a schedule is provided for by a pilot program under section 21108 of this chapter related to employees’ work and rest cycles.

(b)In determining under subsection (a) of this section the time a train employee is on or off duty, the following rules apply:

(1)Time on duty begins when the employee reports for duty and ends when the employee is finally released from duty.

(2)Time the employee is engaged in or connected with the movement of a train is time on duty.

(3)Time spent performing any other service for the railroad carrier during a 24-hour period in which the employee is engaged in or connected with the movement of a train is time on duty.

(4)Time spent in deadhead transportation to a duty assignment is time on duty, but time spent in deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to the place of final release is neither time on duty nor time off duty.

(5)An interim period available for rest at a place other than a designated terminal is time on duty.

(6)An interim period available for less than 4 hours rest at a designated terminal is time on duty.

(7)An interim period available for at least 4 hours rest at a place with suitable facilities for food and lodging is not time on duty when the employee is prevented from getting to the employee’s designated terminal by any of the following:

(A)a casualty.

(B)a track obstruction.

(C)an act of God.

(D)a derailment or major equipment failure resulting from a cause that was unknown and unforeseeable to the railroad carrier or its officer or agent in charge of that employee when that employee left the designated terminal.

(c)(1)A railroad carrier may not require or allow an employee—

(A)to exceed a total of 40 hours per calendar month spent—

(i)waiting for deadhead transportation; or

(ii)in deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to the place of final release,

(B)to exceed a total of 30 hours per calendar month spent—

(i)waiting for deadhead transportation; or

(ii)in deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to the place of final release,

(2)The limitations in paragraph (1) shall apply unless the train carrying the employee is directly delayed by—

(A)a casualty;

(B)an accident;

(C)an act of God;

(D)a derailment;

(E)a major equipment failure that prevents the train from advancing; or

(F)a delay resulting from a cause unknown and unforeseeable to a railroad carrier or its officer or agent in charge of the employee when the employee left a terminal.

(3)Each railroad carrier shall report to the Secretary, in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary, each instance where an employee subject to this section spends time waiting for deadhead transportation or in deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to the place of final release in excess of the requirements of paragraph (1).

(4)If—

(A)the time spent waiting for deadhead transportation or in deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to the place of final release that is not time on duty, plus

(B)the time on duty,

(d)A train employee on the crew of a wreck or relief train may be allowed to remain or go on duty for not more than 4 additional hours in any period of 24 consecutive hours when an emergency exists and the work of the crew is related to the emergency. In this subsection, an emergency ends when the track is cleared and the railroad line is open for traffic.

(e)During a train employee’s minimum off-duty period of 10 consecutive hours, as provided under subsection (a) or during an interim period of at least 4 consecutive hours available for rest under subsection (b)(7) or during additional off-duty hours under subsection (c)(4), a railroad carrier, and its officers and agents, shall not communicate with the train employee by telephone, by pager, or in any other manner that could reasonably be expected to disrupt the employee’s rest. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit communication necessary to notify an employee of an emergency situation, as defined by the Secretary. The Secretary may waive the requirements of this paragraph for commuter or intercity passenger railroads if the Secretary determines that such a waiver will not reduce safety and is necessary to maintain such railroads’ efficient operations and on-time performance of its trains.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 21103(a)45:62(a)(1), (2).Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2939, § 2(a)(1), (2), 34 Stat. 1416; restated Dec. 26, 1969, Pub. L. 91–169, § 1, 83 Stat. 463; July 8, 1976, Pub. L. 94–348, § 4(a)(1), (2), 90 Stat. 818; June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, § 16(2), 102 Stat. 634. 21103(b)45:61(b)(3).Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2939, §§ 1(b)(3), 2(b), 34 Stat. 1415, 1416; restated Dec. 26, 1969, Pub. L. 91–169, § 1, 83 Stat. 463. 45:61(b)(4) (last sentence).Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2939, 34 Stat. 1415, § 1(b)(4) (last sentence); added Nov. 2, 1978, Pub. L. 95–574, § 6, 92 Stat. 2461; June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, § 16(1)(C), 102 Stat. 634. 45:62(b). 21103(c)45:62(c).Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2939, § 2(c), 34 Stat. 1416; Dec. 26, 1969, Pub. L. 91–169, § 1, 83 Stat. 464; restated July 8, 1976, Pub. L. 94–348, § 4(b), 90 Stat. 818. In subsection (a), before clause (1), the words “Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section” are added to alert the reader to the exception restated in subsection (c). The words “train employee” are substituted for “employee” because of the definition of “train employee” in section 21101 of the revised title. In clause (2), the words “12 consecutive hours” are substituted for “continuously . . . fourteen hours” and “except that, effective upon the expiration of the two-year period beginning on the

Effective Date

of this paragraph, such fourteen-hour duty period shall be reduced to twelve hours” because the 2-year period has ended. In subsection (b), the words before paragraph (1) are added as related to 45:61(b)(3) and (4) (last sentence) and substituted for “In determining, for the purposes of subsection (a), the number of hours an employee is on duty” in 45:62(b) for clarity. In paragraphs (2) and (3), the word “actually” is omitted as surplus. In paragraph (4), the words “neither time on duty nor time off duty” are substituted for “time off duty” for clarity and consistency with the source provisions restated in 21104(b)(3) and (4) of the revised title. In paragraph (7), before clause (A), the words “between designated terminals” are omitted as surplus. The text of 45:61(b)(3)(E) is omitted as surplus because of the restatement. In subsection (c), the words “A train employee on” are added for consistency in this section. The word “actual” is omitted as surplus.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, referred to in subsecs. (a)(4)(B)(i) and (c)(1), is the date of enactment of div. A of Pub. L. 110–432, which was approved Oct. 16, 2008.

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–432, § 108(b)(1), added subsec. (a) and struck out former subsec. (a). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, a railroad carrier and its officers and agents may not require or allow a train employee to remain or go on duty— “(1) unless that employee has had at least 8 consecutive hours off duty during the prior 24 hours; or “(2) after that employee has been on duty for 12 consecutive hours, until that employee has had at least 10 consecutive hours off duty.” Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 110–432, § 108(b)(2), added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 110–432, § 108(b)(3), added subsec. (e).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2008 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 110–432 effective 9 months after Oct. 16, 2008, see section 108(g) of Pub. L. 110–432, set out as a note under section 21101 of this title.

§21103 Limitations on Duty Hours of Train Employees

Summary

Title 49, §21103

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Effective Date

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Citations & Metadata