49 U.S.C. § 21102 — Nonapplication, exemption, and alternate hours of service regime
submitted 32 years ago by Pub. L. 103-272 to r/title-49-TRANSPORTATION · 476 words · no verdicts yet
This chapter's duty-hour limits don't apply during casualties, unavoidable accidents, acts of God, or certain unforeseeable delays. The Secretary of Transportation may exempt small railroads, and commuter and intercity passenger railroads follow special transition rules for duty-hour limits.
(a) General: This chapter does not apply when: (1) a casualty happens; (2) an unavoidable accident happens; (3) an act of God happens; or (4) a delay is caused by something the railroad or its officer or agent could not know about or foresee when the employee left the terminal.
(b) Exemption: The Secretary of Transportation may exempt a railroad carrier with 15 or fewer covered employees from this chapter's limits. The Secretary can grant this only after a full hearing, for good cause shown, and only after deciding it serves the public interest without hurting safety. The exemption lasts a specific period of time and gets reviewed at least annually. It may never let a carrier require or allow employees to work more than 16 hours total in a 24-hour period.
(c) Application of Hours of Service Regime to Commuter and Intercity Passenger Railroad Train Employees: (1) For commuter or intercity rail passenger transportation, duty-hour limits for train employees, including at public authorities running passenger service, follow the "old section 21103" rules until either (A) the Secretary's regulations under section 21109(b) take effect, or (B) 3 years pass after the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 became law, whichever comes first. (2) After old section 21103 stops applying under paragraph (1), duty-hour limits for these employees switch to "new section 21103," except as paragraph (3) says. (3) Once the Secretary's regulations under section 21109(b) take effect, these carriers must (A) follow the duty-hour limits set by those regulations for commuter and intercity passenger service, and (B) stop following both old and new section 21103 for those employees. (4) In this subsection: (A) "Commuter rail passenger transportation" and "intercity rail passenger transportation" have the meaning given in section 24102 of this title. (C) "New section 21103" means section 21103 of this chapter as changed by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. (D) "Old section 21103" means section 21103 of this chapter as it read the day before that Act became law.
This chapter does not apply to a situation involving any of the following:
a casualty.
an unavoidable accident.
an act of God.
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.
The Secretary of Transportation may exempt a railroad carrier having not more than 15 employees covered by this chapter from the limitations imposed by this chapter. The Secretary may allow the exemption after a full hearing, for good cause shown, and on deciding that the exemption is in the public interest and will not affect safety adversely. The exemption shall be for a specific period of time and is subject to review at least annually. The exemption may not authorize a carrier to require or allow its employees to be on duty more than a total of 16 hours in a 24-hour period.
When providing commuter rail passenger transportation or intercity rail passenger transportation, the limitations on duty hours for train employees of railroad carriers, including public authorities operating passenger service, shall be solely governed by old section 21103 until the earlier of—
the effective date of regulations prescribed by the Secretary under section 21109(b) of this chapter; or
the date that is 3 years following the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
After the date on which old section 21103 ceases to apply, pursuant to paragraph (1), to the limitations on duty hours for train employees of railroad carriers with respect to the provision of commuter rail passenger transportation or intercity rail passenger transportation, the limitations on duty hours for train employees of such railroad carriers shall be governed by new section 21103, except as provided in paragraph (3).
After the effective date of the regulations prescribed by the Secretary under section 21109(b) of this title, such carriers shall—
comply with the limitations on duty hours for train employees with respect to the provision of commuter rail passenger transportation or intercity rail passenger transportation as prescribed by such regulations; and
be exempt from complying with the provisions of old section 21103 and new section 21103 for such employees.
In this subsection:
The terms “commuter rail passenger transportation” and “intercity rail passenger transportation” have the meaning given those terms in section 24102 of this title.
1 The term “new section 21103” means section 21103 of this chapter as amended by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
The term “old section 21103” means section 21103 of this chapter as it was in effect on the day before the enactment of that Act.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 888; Pub. L. 110–432, div. A, title I, § 108(d)(1), Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4863.)
- 1994Enacted · Pub. L. 103-272 · 108 Stat. 888
- 2008Amended · Pub. L. 110-432 · 122 Stat. 4863
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 103-272 on 1994-07-05.
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