FRA grants unions’ request for more time to file certification petitions

(Source: Progressive Railroading 02/16/2021)

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) last week granted two rail labor unions’ request for an extension to time limits under which certain petitions for review must be filed with the Operating Crew Review Board (OCRB).

Under FRA regulations governing certification of locomotive engineers and conductors, a petition seeking review of a railroad’s decision to deny certification or recertification, or to revoke certification, must be filed with the OCRB no more than 120 days after the date of the railroad’s final decision. That 120-day time limit now has been extended by an additional 60 days, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) officials said in a press release.

The FRA’s decision was in response to a series of joint petitions by the BLET and the SMART Transportation Division.

The FRA granted the extension because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The waiver granting the extension for all petitions for review now will expire Feb. 11, 2022, unless extended, or three months after the FRA rescinds its existing emergency declaration related to COVID-19, whichever is sooner, BLET officials said.