CSX's retaliation loss just reset the bar for defending your termination decisions
A Second Circuit court eliminated the requirement that whistleblowers prove retaliatory intent, instead allowing retaliation claims based on timing and circumstantial evidence.
The Second Circuit handed down a consequential decision on November 25 that fundamentally changes how companies must defend themselves when workers claim retaliation for raising safety concerns. The ruling eliminates a legal protection that HR departments have relied on for years and makes it significantly easier for employees to win these cases.
Cody Ziparo worked as a freight train conductor for CSX Transportation, one of the nation's largest freight rail transportation providers. In early 2016, his supervisors pressured him to falsify work records so they could hit productivity targets that would boost their own bonuses. Ziparo refused and complained that the pressure was creating an unsafe working environment. His supervisors responded with intense scrutiny, daily verbal assaults, selective discipline, and threats of termination.
CSX investigated and found the claims credible, disciplining both supervisors. About a month after Ziparo filed his formal complaint, he made a serious mistake on the job. He failed to properly reset a train switch, an error serious enough that a derailment could have resulted. CSX fired him.
The company argued the termination had nothing to do with his safety complaints. The mistake was...
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