§ 39-6-30 - Protection of railroad employees. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 39-6-30

   § 39-6-30  Protection of railroademployees. – As a condition of his or her approval of any abandonment of railroad facilitiesnot including a relocation by a carrier or carriers by railroad subject to theprovisions of this title, the public utilities administrator shall require afair and equitable arrangement to protect the interest of the railroademployees adversely affected who are not protected by a collective bargainingagreement in such an event, and he or she shall include in his or her orders ofapproval such terms and conditions for the protection of such employees as heor she deems to be fair and equitable and to be substantially equivalent tothose then generally imposed by the Interstate Commerce Commission inabandonment proceedings brought before the Commission; provided, however, thatthe conditions shall provide, as a minimum, that during the period of four (4)years from the effective date of the order the transaction will not result inemployees of the carrier or carriers by railroad affected by the order being ina worse position with respect to their employment, except that the protectionafforded to any employee pursuant to this section shall not be required tocontinue for a longer period following the effective date of the order than theperiod during which the employee was in the employ of the carrier or carriersprior to the effective date of the order; and, provided further, that,notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, the public utilitiesadministrator may accept, as a fair and equitable arrangement for theprotection of railroad employees affected by any order of the public utilitiesadministrator issued under this section, an agreement pertaining to theprotection of the interest of employees entered into by any carrier or carriersby railroad and the duly authorized representative or representatives of its ortheir employees.