Freight Rail Workforce Health and Safety Act

“20172. Injury and fatality prevention

“(a) In general

“(1) Sick leave—Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this section, each Class I railroad carrier subject to part 271 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, shall provide the employees of such rail carrier paid sick leave in accordance with this section.

“(2) Accounting

“(A) In general—For the purposes of this section, personal days, holidays, floating holidays, vacation, any other form of accrued leave or any other unpaid leave do not count as days of paid sick leave.

“(B) Use or ability to use—The use of or the ability to use any such days or leave as paid sick leave days also does not count toward satisfying the minimum number of paid sick leave days required by this section.

“(b) Accruing paid sick leave

“(1) In general—Each Class I railroad carrier described in subsection (a)(1) shall provide the employees of such rail carrier at least 7 days of paid sick leave in a calendar year.

“(2) Carry over—Each day of paid sick leave that an employee does not take in a calendar year shall be carried over to January 1 of the following calendar year and shall not count toward the minimum number of sick days set under subsection (a).

“(3) Wage rate—Each day of sick leave that an employee takes shall be paid at the regular hourly wage rate of the employee and is to include compensation elements that comprise the wage rate of such employee.

“(c) Use of paid sick leave—Subject to the conditions of subsection (d), a Class I railroad carrier shall permit an employee to use paid sick leave to be absent during any work time because of—

“(1) a physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition of the employee;

“(2) obtaining diagnosis, care, or preventive care from a health care provider by the employee;

“(3) caring for the child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner of an employee or any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship who has any of the conditions or needs for diagnosis, care, or preventive care described in paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection; or

“(4) an absence resulting from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, if the time is to—

“(A) seek medical attention for the employee or the employee’s child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, or an individual related to the employee as described in paragraph (3), to recover from physical or psychological injury or disability caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;

“(B) obtain or assist a related person described in paragraph (3) in obtaining services from a victim services organization;

“(C) obtain or assist a related person described in paragraph (3) in obtaining psychological or other counseling;

“(D) seek relocation; or

“(E) take legal action, including preparing for or participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or resulting from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

“(d) Utilizing paid sick leave

“(1) In general—If the need for leave is foreseeable, the request by an employee shall be made at least 7 calendar days in advance of the date for which the leave is requested.

“(2) Non-foreseeable requests—If the employee is unable to request leave at least 7 calendar days in advance, the request shall be made as soon as is practicable.

“(3) No contingency—A Class I railroad carrier may not make the use of paid sick leave contingent on the requesting employee finding a replacement to cover any work time to be missed by the requesting employee.

“(4) Prohibition on adverse action—A Class I railroad carrier is prohibited from—

“(A) dismissing, suspending, laying off, demoting, or disciplining (including assigning points, demerits, or disciplinary citations under any attendance policy) an employee because the employee has requested the use of or has used paid sick leave; and

“(B) taking into account a request by an employee to use or use of paid sick leave in connection with in any decision to promote or train the employee.

“(e) Minimum days of paid sick leave and collective bargaining

“(1) In general—The minimum number of paid sick days established by this section that a Class I railroad carrier must provide employees is the minimum number of such days consistent with safety. The use of any 7 days of paid sick leave annually, regardless of whether such days are provided under any agreement reached in negotiations between any such Class I railroad carrier and any representative of its employees under the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), shall meet the requirements of subsection (d) of this subsection.

“(2) Additional days—Additional paid sick days may be collectively bargained between a railroad carrier and the representatives of employees of such railroad in accordance with the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).

“(f) Definitions—In this section:

“(1) Day—The term “day” means a period of 24 consecutive hours.

“(2) Domestic violence—The term “domestic violence”—

“(A) has the meaning given the term in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)), except that the reference in such section to the term “jurisdiction receiving grant monies” shall be deemed to mean the jurisdiction in which the victim lives or the jurisdiction in which the employer involved is located; and

“(B) includes dating violence, as such term is defined in such section.

“(3) Paid sick leave—The term “paid sick leave” means an increment of compensated leave that can be earned by an employee for use during an absence from employment for any of the reasons described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (c).

“(4) Sexual assault—The term “sexual assault” has the meaning given such term in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)).

“(5) Stalking—The term “stalking” has the meaning given such term in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)).”