Steve Brough v. Administrative Review Board ( 2021 )


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  •                                                                               FILED
    NOT FOR PUBLICATION
    DEC 14 2021
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                         MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
    U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    STEVE BROUGH,                                    No.   19-71983
    Petitioner,                        LABR No. ARB No. 2016-0089
    v.
    MEMORANDUM*
    ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BOARD;
    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
    Respondents,
    ______________________________
    BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY,
    Intervenor.
    BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY,                            No.   20-70655
    Petitioner,                        LABR No. ARB No. 2016-0089
    v.
    ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BOARD;
    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
    Respondents,
    *
    This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
    except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
    STEVE BROUGH,
    Respondent-Intervenor.
    On Petition for Review of an Order of the
    Department of Labor
    Argued and Submitted December 7, 2021
    San Francisco, California
    Before: LUCERO,** IKUTA, and VANDYKE, Circuit Judges.
    This is a consolidated appeal from cross petitions for review of a final order
    of the Administrative Review Board (ARB). BNSF Railway Company appeals the
    ARB’s ruling that it violated the Federal Railway Safety Act (FRSA), 
    49 U.S.C. § 20109
    (a)(4), by terminating Steven Brough due to his report of work-related
    personal injury, and Brough appeals the ARB’s determination that he was not
    entitled to punitive damages. We have jurisdiction under 
    49 U.S.C. § 20109
    (d)(4),
    and deny both petitions for review.
    The decision of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) that Brough’s report of
    work-related personal injury was a contributing factor in BNSF’s decision to
    terminate Brough, as affirmed by the ARB, was supported by substantial evidence,
    including the timing of BNSF’s decision to terminate Brough after learning of his
    **
    The Honorable Carlos F. Lucero, United States Circuit Judge for the
    U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, sitting by designation.
    2
    late injury report, BNSF’s removal of Brough from his work station for refusing to
    sign a disciplinary report that did not require a signature, and BNSF’s shift in its
    basis for disciplinary charges from Brough reporting his injury “too late” to “not
    reporting” the injury. A finding that the employer terminated an employee due, in
    whole or in part, to the employee’s protected act establishes intentional
    discrimination for purposes of 
    49 U.S.C. § 20109
    (a), see Frost v. BNSF Ry. Co.,
    
    914 F.3d 1189
    , 1195 (9th Cir. 2019), and an employee need not prove the
    employer had a subjective discriminatory animus, 
    id.
     In context, Frost’s statement
    that “it would not be possible to show that an employer retaliated in response to an
    employee engaging in protected activity if the employer could demonstrate that it
    honestly believed no protected activity had occurred,” 
    id. at 1197
    , means that an
    employee’s report of a workplace injury cannot be a contributing factor to a
    decision to terminate the employee if the employer does not know that an
    employee made such a report at all. Therefore, the ARB did not err in concluding
    that BNSF violated § 20109(a)(4).
    Because Brough did not have to prove BNSF’s subjective animus, the ALJ’s
    findings (in its consideration of punitive damages) that there was no “intentional
    violation of the FRSA,” and that BNSF decisionmakers “genuinely believed they
    were punishing unprotected misconduct and not attempting to directly punish
    3
    protected activity,” do not undercut the ARB’s conclusion that BNSF violated the
    FRSA. For the same reason, we reject BNSF’s argument that it did not violate the
    FRSA because § 20109(a)(4) bars discrimination against an employee only when
    the employee has engaged in a “lawful, good faith act,” and BNSF had a subjective
    reasonable belief that Brough’s report of injury was not in good faith. Moreover,
    the ALJ found that Brough made his injury report in good faith, and that finding
    was not clearly erroneous.
    Substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s conclusion that BNSF did not prove
    its purported non-retaliatory reasons for terminating Brough by clear and
    convincing evidence. Therefore, the ARB did not err in holding that BNSF failed
    to establish its affirmative defense. Nor did the ARB erroneously rely on the
    “inextricably intertwined” legal theory, see, e.g., Yowell v. Fort Worth & Western
    Railroad, 
    2020 WL 1151016
     (ARB 2020), in determining whether Brough’s
    protected conduct contributed to his termination. Rather, the ARB applied the
    correct causal standard, consistent with Frost. Although the ALJ referenced the
    incorrect standard, we review the ARB’s decision, not the ALJ’s, see Maka v.
    I.N.S., 
    904 F.2d 1351
    , 1355 (9th Cir. 1990). Additionally, and contrary to BNSF’s
    assertion, the ALJ did not rely heavily on her views about the fairness and wisdom
    of BNSF’s policies in rejecting BNSF’s affirmative defense. Rather, the ALJ
    4
    determined that BNSF’s reporting rules and policies were unclear, in connection
    with rejecting BNSF’s claim that it would have terminated Brough due to his
    failure to comply with the reporting rules.
    The ARB did not err in holding that substantial evidence supported the
    ALJ’s award of back pay to Brough for the time period from January 2, 2013 to
    June 2, 2014, because BNSF failed to carry its burden of adducing evidence that
    substantially equivalent jobs were available to Brough. See Odima v. Westin
    Tucson Hotel, 
    53 F.3d 1484
    , 1497 (9th Cir. 1995).
    Finally, the ARB did not err in reversing the ALJ’s punitive damage award.1
    The ALJ found that the BNSF managers “genuinely believed they were punishing
    unprotected misconduct,” and the ARB concluded that BNSF “has made a good-
    faith effort to comply with the law.” Although the ALJ found troubling evidence
    of indifference and callous disregard for the rights of workers, punitive damages
    liability does not arise where “the employer discriminates with the distinct belief
    that its discrimination is lawful,” Kolstad, 527 U.S. at 537.
    1
    We reject BNSF’s argument that the ARB’s reversal of the punitive
    damages award is unreviewable agency action. The FRSA has not precluded
    review of an award of punitive damages, see 
    49 U.S.C. § 20109
    (d)(4), and there
    are meaningful standards by which to determine whether an award of punitive
    damages is proper, see, e.g., Kolstad v. Am. Dental Ass’n, 
    527 U.S. 526
    , 535–39
    (1999).
    5
    Petitions DENIED.
    6
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 19-71983

Filed Date: 12/14/2021

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 12/14/2021