FELA Lawyer

Railroads - Why are they always a federal issue?

For more than a century, railroads have been overseen, managed and regulated by the federal government, and that includes the passage of FELA, or the Federal Employers Liability Act, which protects the rights of injured railroad workers and provides for benefits and uniform standards for those pursuing legal claims for their injuries. When a FELA lawsuit is filed, it's always filed in federal court, even if the railroad worker is injured in a tiny, rural rail yard.

Over the years, many of our clients at Williams Kherkher have asked us why these lawsuits are only brought in federal court, and why the laws, FELA included, that govern railroads are federal in nature. Below is a brief look as to why this is the way it is, but if you have been injured while working on a railroad, contact a FELA lawyer at Williams Kherkher today to schedule a free initial consultation.

The Constitution

The Constitution explicitly states that Congress has the authority "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." (Article I, § 8) While this clause is quite old, it's perhaps as powerful as any tenet in the Constitution, as it allows Congress to tie almost anything to interstate commerce. This is why this clause is often referred to as the "Interstate Commerce Clause."

When applying this doctrine to railroads, it does make a lot of sense. If states were allowed to individually govern and regulate railroads, it's possible that every state could enact a different set of standards for every aspect of the railroad business. Every state could have unique requirements for railroad ties, the amount of fuel a train can exhaust, the amount of weight or types of materials that trains are allowed to carry and just about anything else.

This type of system would potentially grind the railroad system to a halt, as it would be totally impractical to expect a train to stop at a state border and dump a car to meet a weight limit or to meet other standards.

This analysis also applies to FELA. If every state had different standards for liability under FELA, then different results would logically follow similar claims in separate jurisdictions. Workers would not be able to depend on uniform standards, and certain states would attract more railroad workers than others.

This is why FELA and railroads in general are governed by federal law. If you have been injured while working on a railroad, contact a FELA lawyer at Williams Kherkher immediately to schedule a free initial consultation.