H. R. 1—180 
‘‘(B) any Member of Congress, any committee of Con-
gress, or the Government Accountability Office; or 
‘‘(C) a person with supervisory authority over the 
employee or such other person who has the authority to 
investigate, discover, or terminate the misconduct; 
‘‘(2) to refuse to violate or assist in the violation of any 
Federal law, rule, or regulation relating to railroad safety or 
security; 
‘‘(3) to file a complaint, or directly cause to be brought 
a proceeding related to the enforcement of this part or, as 
applicable to railroad safety or security, chapter 51 or 57 of 
this title, or to testify in that proceeding; 
‘‘(4) to notify, or attempt to notify, the railroad carrier 
or the Secretary of Transportation of a work-related personal 
injury or work-related illness of an employee; 
‘‘(5) to cooperate with a safety or security investigation 
by the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, or the National Transportation Safety Board; 
‘‘(6) to furnish information to the Secretary of Transpor-
tation, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the National 
Transportation Safety Board, or any Federal, State, or local 
regulatory or law enforcement agency as to the facts relating 
to any accident or incident resulting in injury or death to 
an individual or damage to property occurring in connection 
with railroad transportation; or 
‘‘(7) to accurately report hours on duty pursuant to chapter 
211. 
‘‘(b) HAZARDOUS SAFETY OR SECURITY CONDITIONS.—(1) A rail-
road carrier engaged in interstate or foreign commerce, or an officer 
or employee of such a railroad carrier, shall not discharge, demote, 
suspend, reprimand, or in any other way discriminate against an 
employee for— 
‘‘(A) reporting, in good faith, a hazardous safety or security 
condition; 
‘‘(B) refusing to work when confronted by a hazardous 
safety or security condition related to the performance of the 
employee’s duties, if the conditions described in paragraph (2) 
exist; or 
‘‘(C) refusing to authorize the use of any safety-related 
equipment, track, or structures, if the employee is responsible 
for the inspection or repair of the equipment, track, or struc-
tures, when the employee believes that the equipment, track, 
or structures are in a hazardous safety or security condition, 
if the conditions described in paragraph (2) exist. 
‘‘(2) A refusal is protected under paragraph (1)(B) and (C) 
if— 
‘‘(A) the refusal is made in good faith and no reasonable 
alternative to the refusal is available to the employee; 
‘‘(B) a reasonable individual in the circumstances then 
confronting the employee would conclude that— 
‘‘(i) the hazardous condition presents an imminent 
danger of death or serious injury; and 
‘‘(ii) the urgency of the situation does not allow suffi-
cient time to eliminate the danger without such refusal; 
and 
‘‘(C) the employee, where possible, has notified the railroad 
carrier of the existence of the hazardous condition and the
H. R. 1—181 
intention not to perform further work, or not to authorize 
the use of the hazardous equipment, track, or structures, unless 
the condition is corrected immediately or the equipment, track, 
or structures are repaired properly or replaced. 
‘‘(3) In this subsection, only paragraph (1)(A) shall apply to 
security personnel employed by a railroad carrier to protect individ-
uals and property transported by railroad. 
‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An employee who alleges discharge, dis-
cipline, or other discrimination in violation of subsection (a) 
or (b) of this section, may seek relief in accordance with the 
provisions of this section, with any petition or other request 
for relief under this section to be initiated by filing a complaint 
with the Secretary of Labor. 
‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Any action under paragraph (1) 
shall be governed under the rules and procedures set forth 
in section 42121(b), including: 
‘‘(i) BURDENS OF PROOF.—Any action brought under 
(c)(1) shall be governed by the legal burdens of proof 
set forth in section 42121(b). 
‘‘(ii) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action under 
paragraph (1) shall be commenced not later than 180 
days after the date on which the alleged violation 
of subsection (a) or (b) of this section occurs. 
‘‘(iii) CIVIL ACTIONS TO ENFORCE.—If a person fails 
to comply with an order issued by the Secretary of 
Labor pursuant to the procedures in section 42121(b), 
the Secretary of Labor may bring a civil action to 
enforce the order in the district court of the United 
States for the judicial district in which the violation 
occurred, as set forth in 42121. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notification made under section 
42121(b)(1) shall be made to the person named in the 
complaint and the person’s employer. 
‘‘(3) DE NOVO REVIEW.—With respect to a complaint under 
paragraph (1), if the Secretary of Labor has not issued a final 
decision within 210 days after the filing of the complaint and 
if the delay is not due to the bad faith of the employee, the 
employee may bring an original action at law or equity for 
de novo review in the appropriate district court of the United 
States, which shall have jurisdiction over such an action with-
out regard to the amount in controversy, and which action 
shall, at the request of either party to such action, be tried 
by the court with a jury. 
‘‘(4) APPEALS.—Any person adversely affected or aggrieved 
by an order issued pursuant to the procedures in section 
42121(b), may obtain review of the order in the United States 
court of appeals for the circuit in which the violation, with 
respect to which the order was issued, allegedly occurred or 
the circuit in which the complainant resided on the date of 
such violation. The petition for review must be filed not later 
than 60 days after the date of the issuance of the final order 
of the Secretary of Labor. The review shall conform to chapter 
7 of title 5. The commencement of proceedings under this 
paragraph shall not, unless ordered by the court, operate as 
a stay of the order.
H. R. 1—182 
‘‘(d) REMEDIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An employee prevailing in any action 
under subsection (c) shall be entitled to all relief necessary 
to make the employee whole. 
‘‘(2) DAMAGES.—Relief in an action under subsection (c) 
(including an action described in subsection (c)(3)) shall 
include— 
‘‘(A) reinstatement with the same seniority status that 
the employee would have had, but for the discrimination; 
‘‘(B) any backpay, with interest; and 
‘‘(C) compensatory damages, including compensation 
for any special damages sustained as a result of the 
discrimination, including litigation costs, expert witness 
fees, and reasonable attorney fees. 
‘‘(3) POSSIBLE
RELIEF.—Relief in any action under sub-
section (c) may include punitive damages in an amount not 
to exceed $250,000. 
‘‘(e) ELECTION OF REMEDIES.—An employee may not seek protec-
tion under both this section and another provision of law for the 
same allegedly unlawful act of the railroad carrier. 
‘‘(f) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section preempts or 
diminishes any other safeguards against discrimination, demotion, 
discharge, suspension, threats, harassment, reprimand, retaliation, 
or any other manner of discrimination provided by Federal or 
State law. 
‘‘(g) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE.—Nothing in this section 
shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privileges, or remedies 
of any employee under any Federal or State law or under any 
collective bargaining agreement. The rights and remedies in this 
section may not be waived by any agreement, policy, form, or 
condition of employment. 
‘‘(h) DISCLOSURE OF IDENTITY.— 
‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, 
or with the written consent of the employee, the Secretary 
of Transportation or the Secretary of Homeland Security may 
not disclose the name of an employee of a railroad carrier 
who has provided information about an alleged violation of 
this part or, as applicable to railroad safety or security, chapter 
51 or 57 of this title, or a regulation prescribed or order issued 
under any of those provisions. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary of Transportation or the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall disclose to the Attorney General the 
name of an employee described in paragraph (1) if the matter 
is referred to the Attorney General for enforcement. The Sec-
retary making such disclosures shall provide reasonable 
advance notice to the affected employee if disclosure of that 
person’s identity or identifying information is to occur. 
‘‘(i) PROCESS
FOR REPORTING SECURITY PROBLEMS
TO
THE 
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCESS.—The Secretary of Home-
land Security shall establish through regulations, after an 
opportunity for notice and comment, a process by which any 
person may report to the Secretary of Homeland Security 
regarding 
railroad 
security 
problems, 
deficiencies, 
or 
vulnerabilities. 
‘‘(2) ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT.—If a report submitted 
under paragraph (1) identifies the person making the report,
H. R. 1—183 
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall respond promptly 
to such person and acknowledge receipt of the report. 
‘‘(3) STEPS TO ADDRESS PROBLEM.—The Secretary of Home-
land Security shall review and consider the information pro-
vided in any report submitted under paragraph (1) and shall 
take appropriate steps to address any problems or deficiencies 
identified.’’. 
SEC. 1522. SECURITY BACKGROUND CHECKS OF COVERED INDIVID-
UALS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following definitions 
apply: 
(1) SECURITY
BACKGROUND
CHECK.—The term ‘‘security 
background check’’ means reviewing, for the purpose of identi-
fying individuals who may pose a threat to transportation secu-
rity or national security, or of terrorism— 
(A) relevant criminal history databases; 
(B) in the case of an alien (as defined in the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(3)), the relevant 
databases to determine the status of the alien under the 
immigration laws of the United States; and 
(C) other relevant information or databases, as deter-
mined by the Secretary. 
(2) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered individual’’ 
means an employee of a railroad carrier or a contractor or 
subcontractor of a railroad carrier. 
(b) GUIDANCE.— 
(1) Any guidance, recommendations, suggested action 
items, or any other widely disseminated voluntary action items 
issued by the Secretary to a railroad carrier or a contractor 
or subcontractor of a railroad carrier relating to performing 
a security background check of a covered individual shall con-
tain recommendations on the appropriate scope and application 
of such a security background check, including the time period 
covered, the types of disqualifying offenses, and a redress 
process for adversely impacted covered individuals consistent 
with subsections (c) and (d) of this section. 
(2) Within 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, any guidance, recommendations, suggested action items, 
or any other widely disseminated voluntary action item issued 
by the Secretary prior to the date of enactment of this Act 
to a railroad carrier or a contractor or subcontractor of a rail-
road carrier relating to performing a security background check 
of a covered individual shall be updated in compliance with 
paragraph (1). 
(3) If a railroad carrier or a contractor or subcontractor 
of a railroad carrier performs a security background check 
on a covered individual to fulfill guidance issued by the Sec-
retary under paragraph (1) or (2), the Secretary shall not con-
sider such guidance fulfilled unless an adequate redress process 
as described in subsection (d) is provided to covered individuals. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS.—If the Secretary issues a rule, regulation, 
or directive requiring a railroad carrier or contractor or subcon-
tractor of a railroad carrier to perform a security background check 
of a covered individual, then the Secretary shall prohibit the rail-
road carrier or contractor or subcontractor of a railroad carrier 
from making an adverse employment decision, including removal