Legal Update – October 8, 2020

This week the United States Supreme Court denied a Petition for Certiorari in a very important case that affects all railroad workers nationwide. SCOTUS denied hearing the appeal of Ammons v. Wisconsin Central Ltd. from the Illinois Supreme Court. There, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the railroad’s efforts to counter sue its own injured employee for property damage in the injured employee’s FELA injury case. The railroad’s legal strategy of counter-suing its own injured employee is a clear violation of Section 55 of FELA, which has protected railroad workers from such claims and tactics for the last 110 years. The Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling is in clear conflict with a similar case from the Washington Supreme Court, as well as Section 55 of FELA. Because of the SCOTUS’s refusal to hear the case and correct this error, the U.S. Congress should take immediate action to pass further legislation to protect the rights of railroad workers.
 
– Joe Miller
Scroll to Top