Justin Reed v. Norfolk Southern Railway Compa

FLAUM, Circuit Judge.

This case is about the meaning of the election-of-remedies provision in the Federal Railroad Safety Act (“FRSA”). The defendant, Norfolk Southern Railway, claims that this provision bars a railroad employee who has been wrongfully discharged from obtaining relief through both grievance-arbitration pursuant to the Railway Labor Act and an administrative claim or lawsuit under FRSA. We disagree. Although our reasoning differs from the district court’s, we too conclude that nothing in FRSA bars an employee from bringing both claims.

I. Background

In April 2009, Justin Reed, a…