Notice2022-04530
Equivalent Protective Arrangements for Railroad Employees
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 4, 2022
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Railroad Administration
Abstract
FRA proposes guidance for its grantees on protective arrangements that are required to protect employees impacted by certain projects financed by the Federal Government. FRA intends its final guidance (FRA Guidance) on this topic to inform its grantees on how to comply with statutory requirements for these protections in the performance of their grants.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 43 (Friday, March 4, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 43 (Friday, March 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12527-12528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04530]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA-2022-0004]
Equivalent Protective Arrangements for Railroad Employees
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of proposed guidance.
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SUMMARY: FRA proposes guidance for its grantees on protective
arrangements that are required to protect employees impacted by certain
projects financed by the Federal Government. FRA intends its final
guidance (FRA Guidance) on this topic to inform its grantees on how to
comply with statutory requirements for these protections in the
performance of their grants.
DATES: Written comments on this proposed guidance must be received on
or before April 18, 2022. Comments received after that date will be
considered to the extent possible without incurring additional expense
or delay.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by the docket number
FRA-2022-0004 by using the Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this guidance. All comments received will be
posted
[[Page 12528]]
without change to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal
information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document for Privacy Act
information related to any submitted comments or materials.
Docket: For access to the docket to read the proposed FRA Guidance,
background documents, or comments received, go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin MacWhorter, Attorney Advisor,
Office of the Chief Counsel, telephone: (202) 641-8727, email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#670c02110e09490a0604100f08151302152703081349000811"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f49f91829d9ada999597839c9b86809186b4909b80da939b82">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1976, pursuant to the Railroad
Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (4R Act),
representatives of the railroads and their employees agreed on ``[f]air
and equitable arrangements'' to protect employees impacted by certain
projects financed by the Federal Government. The Secretary of Labor
adopted these protections in a letter to the Secretary of
Transportation dated July 6, 1976. FRA has placed a copy of this letter
and the accompanying protections in the docket for this guidance. In
general, these protections provided that a railroad employee who is
adversely affected by a project receiving certain financing from the
Federal Government was entitled to receive a displacement allowance,
and/or a dismissal allowance, among other benefits.
Many of FRA's current discretionary grant programs, including the
Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program and
the Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair Program, are
subject to the grant conditions described in section 22905(c) of title
49, U.S.C. As relevant here, section 22905(c)(2)(B), requires grant
applicants, for any grant for a project that uses rights-of-way owned
by a railroad, to agree to comply with ``the protective arrangements
that are equivalent to the protective arrangements established under''
the 4R Act. While this requirement is a condition of many FRA grants,
it is not often applicable (as FRA's grants do not typically cause an
adverse impact to railroad employees). With that said, FRA developed
the FRA Guidance to assist grantees and to facilitate compliance with
these important protections. Once final, FRA intends to include the FRA
Guidance as an appendix to all new grant and cooperative agreements
subject to section 22905(c)(2)(B), and grantees will be required to
ensure the inclusion of the FRA Guidance, as applicable, in all
contracts for the FRA-funded project. Costs incurred to comply with the
FRA Guidance and in a manner consistent with 2 CFR part 200 are
eligible for reimbursement under the applicable grant.
Section 22905(c)(2)(B) specifically requires protective
arrangements ``equivalent'' to those established under the 4R Act. As
such, in the FRA Guidance, FRA did not deviate from the protections
adopted by the Secretary of Labor in 1976. The FRA Guidance only seeks
to clarify the protections and to ensure grant applicants understand
them. FRA did not create new, or remove existing, protections. As
noted, FRA has included a copy of the Secretary of Labor's letter and
the accompanying protections in the docket to facilitate review of the
FRA Guidance.
The FRA Guidance describes both procedural and substantive
protections. The substantive protections include dismissal and
displacement allowances and moving assistance, among other items
included in the original 4R Act protections. The procedural protections
include opportunities for employees (or their representatives) to
engage in negotiations with respect to application of the protections.
Privacy Act
FRA may solicit comments from the public to better inform its
guidance process. FRA posts these comments, without edit, including any
personal information the commenter provides, to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, as
described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can
be reviewed at <a href="http://www.dot.gov/privacy">www.dot.gov/privacy</a>. In order to facilitate comment
tracking and response, we encourage commenters to provide their name,
or the name of their organization; however, submission of names is
completely optional. Whether or not commenters identify themselves, all
timely comments will be fully considered. If you wish to provide
comments containing proprietary or confidential information, please
contact the agency for alternate submission instructions.
Allison Ishihara Fultz,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2022-04530 Filed 3-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
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