The Federal Employers Liability Act was passed in 1906 to compensate and protect railroad workers from misconduct and negligence. It requires workers to sue the company and relies on a jury to determine compensation. Workers can sue for lost wages, medical bills, and additional compensation for pain and suffering.
Enacted in 1906, the Federal Employers Liability Act was one of the first labor law mandates passed by the United States Congress. The goal of the law was to provide compensation to railroad employees in the event of injury and to protect railroad workers from misconduct and general negligence by the companies they worked for. The Federal Employers Liability Act is overseen by the Federal Railroad Administration under Title 45 of the United States Code, the set of laws that also supports the Railroad Retirement Board.
Problems with the railroad industry were first addressed by the federal government in 1889 as the industry continued to expand westward, becoming one of the largest in the country. President Benjamin Harrison took the opportunity to focus on the importance of railroad workers and the dangers they face, likening them to soldiers in conflict. Over the following decades, more workers were injured and killed, culminating in the major court case of Johnson v. Southern Pacific Co. in 1904. Led by U.S. Representative Henry Flood and the unilateral actions of a number of states, the Federal Employers Liability Act was passed. However, it quickly met the industry challenge and was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, forcing Congress to pass a second measure with modified wording in 1908.
The primary purpose of the federal employers’ liability law is to provide a way for railroad workers to receive financial compensation in the event of injury or death. However, unlike traditional workers’ compensation laws, the Federal Employers Liability Act requires the railroad worker to sue the actual company and relies on a jury to decide what level of payment the worker deserves. Furthermore, the railroad must be considered negligent in its actions in order for a required payment to be made.
Under federal law, an employee can specifically sue the railroad company for a variety of different losses. This includes all lost wages, both past and future, and medical bills not covered by insurance. Additional compensation may be paid for pain and suffering, permanent injury and emotional distress. This means that a railroad worker who sues his company over negligent action can receive much higher compensation than those seeking traditional workers’ compensation, which standardizes injury payments.
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