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What can crews do after 12 hours on duty?
The following is the latest safety advisory issued by the FRA concerning the Hours of Service. Should you have any problems with Carrier Officers concerning the application of the following safety advisory please advise this office.
Train and Engine Service Employee Tie-ups After Maximum Statutory On-Duty Time.
This issue involves the performance of limited incidental service relative to tie-up, as compared to required administrative duties usually associated with timekeeping, crew management, and train delay reporting by train and engine crews after the expiration of the 12-hour duty limitation. Out of necessity in this instance, crewmembers must accomplish some tasks after arrival at their tie-up point. FRA recognizes that a certain amount of data exchange is necessary for the benefit of both the employee and the railroad carrier. To that end, FRA has traditionally “permitted” incidental service such as a brief tie-up call to inform the railroad carrier when to start the employee’s off-duty period and make it aware of when the employee may return to duty. As an alternative to a brief tie-up telephone call, FRA has “permitted” the faxing of a completed time slip/delay report to either a train dispatcher or crew management.
Today, technological advancements have eliminated many handwritten records pertaining to a train crew’s duty tour, and it is becoming more customary for a conductor and/or engineer to use a computer terminal to input train/crew related information. The input of this data is considered vital to the operations of some railroad carriers, particularly for crew management and payroll functions. However, some railroad carriers have begun to require the conductor and/or engineer to input more and more data prior to being released from duty. This has resulted in increased instances in which excess service is performed under the commingled service provisions of the hours of service laws See 49 U.S.C. § 21103(b)(3).
Since technology is driving the evolution of tie-up procedures, the solution, out of necessity, must be applicable to controlled environments such as the electronic hours of duty recordkeeping systems utilizing a "quick tie-up screen." In this environment, the railroad carriers are responsible for providing adequate resources, such as, telephones, FAX machines or computer terminals, to facilitate an immediate tie-up on crew arrival.
FRA Policy: FRA will consider as “incidental service” the transmission of the following information (either in person, via telephone, fax, or quick tie-up screen in electronic systems) by a crewmember that has reached his/her statutory on duty limit of 12 hours:
# Relieved time (time employee stopped performing covered service) OR the amount of statutory off-duty time required (8 or 10 hours) before the employee can return to duty. (On some railroad carriers, the employee has the right to request an off-duty period in excess of the statutory minimum. In these cases, the requested off-duty time period may be transmitted);
# Released time (time employee begins the off-duty period);
# Board positioning/placement time; and
# Telephone number/contact location, if different from the number listed with crew management.
FRA has consistently maintained that even limited administrative duties, despite their de minimis nature, are considered as time on duty under the laws. And, in the event that limited administrative duties are performed after the expiration of 12 hours of on-duty time, FRA will continue to exercise its prosecutorial discretion in deciding which cases warrant recommendations for the assessment of civil penalties (See 49 CFR Part 209 Appendix A).
However, a railroad's procedures that exceed the scope of the above defined “incidental” service and unavailability of immediate tie-up facilities to provide tie-up information will be viewed by FRA as mandatory “administrative” duties. Therefore, time spent performing these administrative duties and/or waiting on tie-up facilities will be considered as time on duty under the commingled service provisions of the Federal hours of service laws and subject the railroad carrier to possible civil penalty liability and the excess service reporting requirements under 49 CFR Part 228 relative to Form 6180.3. Administrative duties include:
1. Preparing or submitting work reports or accident reports;
2. Any other administrative tasks required of an employee by a railroad in conjunction with a covered service duty tour, other than that defined above as “incidental” service; and
3. All waiting periods associated with the unavailability of tie-up facilities, such as, telephone, FAX machine or computer terminal.
Normally, time spent in deadhead transportation from covered service to a point of final release is considered as neither on-duty nor off-duty time, but instead as "limbo time." When administrative duties follow limbo time, the time spent deadheading must be reclassified as deadheading to duty and, therefore, must be considered as time on duty in calculating total on-duty.
THIS PAGE LATE UPDATED: 03/06/2005 |