49 U.S.C. § 21103 — Limitations on duty hours of train employees

(a) In General: Except as (d) allows, a railroad carrier and its officers and agents cannot require or allow a train employee to: (1) stay on duty, go on duty, wait for or ride in deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to the place of final release, or do any other mandatory work for the carrier, once the employee has spent 276 total hours that calendar month (A) on duty, (B) waiting for or in deadhead transportation, or (C) in any other mandatory service; (2) stay or go on duty for more than 12 straight hours; (3) stay or go on duty without at least 10 straight hours off in the prior 24 hours; or (4) stay or go on duty after starting an on-duty period each day for (A) 6 straight days, unless they have had at least 48 straight hours off at their home terminal, fully unavailable to any railroad carrier, except (i) an employee may work a seventh straight day if they finished their sixth day's final period of on-duty time away from their home terminal, and (ii) then must have at least 72 straight hours off at their home terminal, fully unavailable to any railroad carrier; or (B) except as (A) allows, 7 straight days, unless they have had at least 72 straight hours off at their home terminal, fully unavailable to any railroad carrier, if (i) for 18 months after the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 became law, an existing collective bargaining agreement expressly allows this schedule, or an agreement signed during that period expressly allows it; (ii) a collective-bargaining pilot program allows it; or (iii) a pilot program under section 21108 of this chapter, about employees' work and rest cycles, allows it. The Secretary may waive paragraph (4), consistent with section 20103's procedural requirements, if a collective bargaining agreement sets a different arrangement that is in the public interest and consistent with railroad safety. (b) Determining Time on Duty: To figure out on-duty and off-duty time under subsection (a): (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 moving a train is time on duty. (3) During a 24-hour period when the employee is engaged in or connected with moving a train, time spent performing any other service for the railroad carrier is also time on duty. (4) Time spent in deadhead transportation to a duty assignment is time on duty; 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 their designated terminal by (A) a casualty, (B) a track obstruction, (C) an act of God, or (D) a derailment or major equipment failure caused by something unknown and unforeseeable to the railroad carrier or its officer or agent in charge of the employee when the employee left the designated terminal. (c) Limbo Time Limitation and Additional Rest Requirement: (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, following a period of 12 consecutive hours on duty that is neither time on duty nor time off duty, not counting interim rest periods, during the period from the date the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 was enacted to one year after that date; and (B) to exceed a total of 30 hours per calendar month for the same thing, during the period beginning one year after that date, except that the Secretary may further limit the monthly limitation by regulation under section 21109. (2) These limitations 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 from a cause unknown and unforeseeable to the railroad carrier or its officer or agent in charge of the employee when the employee left a terminal. (3) Each railroad carrier must report to the Secretary, following the Secretary's procedures, each time an employee spends deadhead waiting or travel time beyond paragraph (1)'s limits. (4) If (A) the time spent waiting for or in deadhead transportation that is not time on duty, plus (B) the time on duty, exceeds 12 consecutive hours, the railroad carrier must give the employee additional time off duty equal to the number of hours that sum exceeds 12 hours. (d) Emergencies: A train employee on the crew of a wreck or relief train may work up to 4 additional hours in any 24 consecutive hours when an emergency exists and the crew's work relates to the emergency. In this subsection, an emergency ends once the track is cleared and the railroad line reopens for traffic. (e) Communication During Time Off Duty: During a train employee's minimum 10 consecutive hours off duty under subsection (a), or during an interim rest period of at least 4 consecutive hours under subsection (b)(7), or during additional off-duty hours under subsection (c)(4), a railroad carrier and its officers and agents cannot communicate with the employee by telephone, pager, or any other way that could reasonably disrupt the employee's rest. This does not prohibit communication necessary to notify an employee of an emergency, as the Secretary defines it. The Secretary may waive this requirement for commuter or intercity passenger railroads if the Secretary decides the waiver will not reduce safety and is necessary to keep those railroads running efficiently and on time.