SENATE BILL NO. 467
INTRODUCED BY D. GRIMES
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT CLARIFYING THAT THE LIABILITY OF A RAILROAD COMPANY OR MINING COMPANY FOR NEGLIGENCE OF EMPLOYEES DOES NOT APPLY WHEN AN EMPLOYEE IS COVERED BY A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT; AMENDING SECTIONS 39-2-703 AND 39-2-704, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE."
WHEREAS, Montana's Wrongful Discharge From Employment Act (Act) was created as the exclusive system to compensate an employee for a wrongful discharge by an employer, as implemented in 1987 by the Legislature in Title 39, chapter 2, part 9, MCA, except for those employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement; and
WHEREAS, the exclusive remedy provisions of the Act in Montana can be described as the part of the law that is applicable to people who assert a claim that their employers wrongfully discharged them, while exempting from the Act employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement or subject to a state or federal statute with a remedy for contesting the dispute and preempting common law remedies; and
WHEREAS, in 1905, the Montana Legislature enacted section 39-2-703, MCA, which allowed an injured employee a claim of relief against an employer for negligence, predating the Act, and the Workers' Compensation Act, which was enacted in 1915; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Employers' Liability Act has controlled the compensation for physical injuries to railroad workers since its inception in 1908, when it was enacted after the enactment of section 39-2-703, MCA; and
WHEREAS, in a 2000 decision, Winslow v. Montana Rail Link, Inc., 2000 MT 292, the Montana Supreme Court reversed the District Court, in part, applying section 39-2-703, MCA, for the first time since its passage in 1905 to a wrongful discharge action by a railroad employee, and the District Court held that section 39-2-703, MCA, was intended to protect employees from personal injuries caused by coworkers and did not provide a cause of action for wrongful termination; and
WHEREAS, the Montana Supreme Court held that section 39-2-703, MCA, created a statutory remedy under state law for mismanagement of claims by an employee against an employer; and
WHEREAS, the Montana Supreme Court, in Winslow, held that the Legislature, in keeping section 39-2-703, MCA, codified after the creation of the Federal Employers' Liability Act, must have intended section 39-2-703, MCA, with a scope broader than the Federal Employers' Liability Act, to include more than personal injuries; and
WHEREAS, the statutory remedy used by the Montana Supreme Court in Winslow creates a separate remedy outside of the terms of a collective bargaining agreement and the Act and the Act and certain collective bargaining agreements were intended to be exclusive remedies, and therefore, the Montana Supreme Court's decision in Winslow runs contrary to the intent of the Legislature as this decision created a new remedy for relief; and
WHEREAS, the exclusive remedy provision in the Act provides that a discharged employee has a cause of action under the Act unless exempted with a collective bargaining agreement, either of which control the process for a terminated employee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 39-2-703, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-2-703. Liability of railway corporation for negligence of fellow servants employees. (1) Every Each person or
corporation operating a railway or railroad in this state is liable for all damages sustained by any an employee of such the
person or corporation in consequence of caused by the neglect of any other another employee, thereof or caused by the
mismanagement of any other another employee, thereof and in consequence as a result of the willful wrongs misconduct,
whether of commission or omission, of any other another employee thereof when such the neglect, mismanagement, or
wrongs misconduct are is in any manner connected with the use and operation of any a railway or railroad on or about
which he with whom the employee is employed. No A contract which that restricts such the liability of the railway or
railroad is not legal or binding.
(2) In case of the death of any such an employee in consequence of any caused by an injury or damage so sustained
action referred to in subsection (1), the right of action provided by subsection (1) shall survive survives and may be
prosecuted and maintained by his the employee's heirs or personal representatives.
(3) Every Each railway corporation doing business in this state, including electric railway corporations, is liable for
damages sustained by an employee thereof of a railway corporation within this state, subject to the provisions of 27-1-702,
when such the damages are caused by the negligence of any a train dispatcher, telegraph operator, superintendent, master
mechanic, yardmaster, conductor, engineer, motorman driver, or any other employee who has superintendence of any
supervision of a stationary or hand signal.
(4) No A contract of insurance, relief, benefit, or indemnity in case of injury or death or any other contract entered into,
either before or after the injury, between the person injured and any of the employers named in subsection (3) railway
corporation is not a bar or defense to any a cause of action brought under the provisions of this section, except as otherwise
provided in the Workers' Compensation Act.
(5) The provisions of this section do not apply to an employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides a procedure that allows the employee to process a claim or grievance contesting alleged negligence, mismanagement, or misconduct."
Section 2. Section 39-2-704, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-2-704. Liability of mining company for negligence of fellow servants employees. (1) Every Each company,
corporation, or individual operating any a mine, smelter, or mill for the refining of ores is liable for damages sustained by
any an employee thereof of the company, corporation, or individual within this state, subject to the provisions of 27-1-702,
when such the damage is caused by the negligence, mismanagement, or misconduct of any a superintendent, foreman lead
supervisor, shift boss, hoisting or other engineer, or craneman crane operator.
(2) No A contract of insurance, relief, benefit, or indemnity in case of injury or death or any other contract entered into
before the injury between the person injured and any of the employers named in this section employer is not a bar or
defense to any a cause of action brought under the provisions of this section, except as otherwise provided in the Workers'
Compensation Act.
(3) In case of the death of any such an employee in consequence of any caused by an injury or damages so sustained, the
right of action survives and may be prosecuted and maintained by his the employee's heirs or personal representatives.
(4) The provisions of this section do not apply to an employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides a procedure that allows the employee to process a claim or grievance contesting alleged negligence, mismanagement, or misconduct."
NEW SECTION. Section 3. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.
- END -
Latest Version of SB 467 (SB0467.01)
Processed for the Web on February 16, 2001 (7:31AM)
New language in a bill appears underlined, deleted material appears stricken.
Sponsor names are handwritten on introduced bills, hence do not appear on the bill until it is reprinted. See the status of this bill for the bill's primary sponsor.
Status of this Bill | 2001 Legislature | Leg. Branch Home
All versions of this bill (PDF Format)
Authorized print version w/line numbers (PDF format)
(406)444-3064