OSHA Orders Norfolk Southern to Pay Injured Worker

Norfolk Southern Corp. plans to appeal a federal agency’s order requiring it to pay an injured worker more than $288,000.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s order came in a whistleblower complaint. The worker claimed Norfolk Southern retaliated against him after he reported being injured on the job in Savannah, Ga.

The agency determined that Norfolk Southern violated the whistleblower protection provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act.

Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman tells The Virginian-Pilot that OSHA’s investigation is flawed and one sided. He says the company hasn’t been permitted to question the worker under oath or cross examine any of his witnesses.

The government doesn’t release workers’ names involved in whistleblower complaints.