FELA Series

Winter 2002
Volume 109 - No. 4

The history of FELA

94 years ago the FELA was passed by Congress to protect workers when they are injured

In 1908, the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) was established in response to the hazardous working conditions in the rail industry. It is reported in the Interstate Commerce Commission Report (764) that in 1901, 2,675 railroad employees were killed and 41,142 were injured. Prior to the enactment of FELA, all rail employees were covered under the various workmen's compensation statutes, which were both inadequate and non-uniform. Due to the great number of injuries and the inadequacy of benefits available, Congress passed FELA to protect railroad workers and to bring about a more uniform recovery method.

The railroad companies opposed all laws pertaining to the protection of railroad workers; however, when legislation was introduced, the carriers pushed for a statute, which would require the employee to prove negligence (or fault) in order to make a recovery. Initially, this worked well for the railroads since they could tie up the injured workman's case in court and force the injured worker to incur substantial expense in order to make a recovery. As a result, many employees could not afford representation or the expense of litigation and did not use the FELA. In 1916, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen saw the need to address this issue and formulated the idea of designating certain lawyers to represent injured union members. This quickly carried over to all of the rail unions and hence started the Designated Legal Counsel system which is in place today.

The introduction of Designated Legal Counsel (DLC) was important to the injured worker because the quality of representation improved along with the recoveries made by the injured workers. Due to the success of the DLC, the railroads began to attack the DLC on the basis of various state solicitation laws. In June of 1959, the Virginia State Bar filed suit against the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainman and one of its designated counsel on the basis of violation of solicitation laws. The United States Supreme Court decided the case in 1964, and upheld the rights of the Union to advise injured workers to obtain legal advice and that specific lawyers may be recommended in accordance with the First and Fourteenth Amendment. Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Virginia Ex. Rel. Virginia State Bar, 377 U.S. 1 (1964)

In 1939, the first amendments to FELA were made. Amendments eliminating assumption of the risk and the Fellow Servant Doctrine were made in addition to changing contributory negligence to prove comparative negligence. In addition, the railroads were prohibited from penalizing employees who provided information concerning an injury to the injured employees. Other than changes made in 1939, no other amendments have been made to the FELA.

However, the United States Supreme Court has interpreted FELA in several landmark cases. In 1914, the Supreme Court held that violations of the Safety Appliance Act and Boiler Inspection Act made the railroads strictly liable for injuries resulting from various violations.

In a 1957 landmark decision, the Supreme Court relaxed the burden of the plaintiff in proving fault. The court held that a jury question of fault was presented if the railroad's negligence played any part, even in the slightest, in preventing the death or injury. Rogers v. Missouri Pacific Railroad 352 U.S. 500, 503 (1957). The proof of negligence was further eased when the Supreme Court held that a jury question of causation was presented when there was evidence that the employer's negligence played "any role" in providing the injury. Gallick v. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company 372 U.S. 108 (1963).

Although the Supreme Court liberalized the burden for Plaintiff to prove its case in Rogers & Gallick, in 1994 the Supreme Court held that pure emotional or psychological injuries are not covered under the FELA unless the emotional injury follows or is in conjunction with a physical injury, or the individual was in the zone of danger. Consolidated Rail Corporation v. Gottshall 510 U.S. 1162.

In 1997, the railroads were successful in having the General Accounting Office (GAO) study the feasibility of changing FELA. The GAO, after having studied FELA and conducting numerous interviews with Designated Counsel and various injured workers, found that FELA works. The GAO further found that if any changes are to be made, they should be made between labor and management.

Taken as a whole, FELA has had a great effect on the lives of railroad workers since its inception in 1908. It has helped to make work a little safer for railroad workers and has served to hold the railroads accountable for safety.

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