Passenger Trains > Amtrak policy on search of employees' property Rescinded

On Monday May 11, 2015, Amtrak instituted a policy on random searches of employee personal property:

> o) Employee Property Inspections

> Randomized Inspections. Amtrak reserves the right to inspect employee belongings and
> containers, including, but not limited to, backpacks, briefcases, toolkits, lunch pails, baggage,
> etc. as part of a randomized inspection procedure designed to address specific identifiable
> concerns (ex. Theft, fraud, drug/alcohol misuse, unauthorized weapons or equipment).

> Reasonable Suspicion Inspections. Amtrak reserves the right to conduct inspections of
> company supplied or approved equipment and/or employee belongings and containers as part of
> a company investigation based upon reasonable suspicion of a violation of corporate or
> department policy or procedure or a violation of law, statute or regulation.

> Any inspection shall be done in a manner that the scope of the inspection is narrowly focused
> and tailored to the inspection procedure or investigation, requires that only appropriate
> equipment or containers are inspected and that the privacy rights of employees are protected to
> the extent possible

This was issued BEFORE the deadly Amtrak wreck in Philadelphia, so it was not prompted
by that wreck...it was NOT APPLICABLE for it due to effective date of May 18.

HOWEVER, Amtrak has now officially RESCINDED that policy.  It is no longer on the company Intranet or
the Customer Service External Internet Site.

 

---

Employer searches are extremely controversial. Especially in a collectively bargained environment.

FYI the Supreme ruled that Amazon could force employees to wait up to 90 minutes for a shift exit body search. Unpaid.

Posted from Android

Public Property and private property are two different things. A private company is now a person due to Citizens United scotus case. That means that a railroad is the same as you or I. And I can not demand to search YOUR private property without consent or reason to believe a law is being broken. It all gets back to personal freedom for me. We either have it or we don't. Many of us live in bags between terminals. I'd fight with everything I have to keep my private effects private. They have zero to do with what I am doing. Again, what many non-rails don't understand is that a fire-happy manager could take acception to a magazine in your bag because there is a rule against reading on duty. 

This also goes back to the inward facing cameras. Many of us would be ok with them being there if and only if the companies have ZERO ACCESS to them. A police officer asking to inspect your bags because they believe you are breaking a law is not the same as a manager asking to look in your bags just because. 

Joe

joeygooganelli Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Public Property and private property are two
> different things. A private company is now a
> person due to Citizens United scotus case. That
> means that a railroad is the same as you or I. And
> I can not demand to search YOUR private property
> without consent or reason to believe a law is
> being broken. It all gets back to personal freedom
> for me. We either have it or we don't. Many of us
> live in bags between terminals. I'd fight with
> everything I have to keep my private effects
> private. They have zero to do with what I am
> doing. Again, what many non-rails don't understand
> is that a fire-happy manager could take acception
> to a magazine in your bag because there is a rule
> against reading on duty. 
>
> This also goes back to the inward facing cameras.
> Many of us would be ok with them being there if
> and only if the companies have ZERO ACCESS to
> them. A police officer asking to inspect your bags
> because they believe you are breaking a law is not
> the same as a manager asking to look in your bags
> just because. 
>
> Joe

I agree with everything you've said, but it might be wise to align yourself with your union's position on all this.  Don't try to fight this battle on your own.  

Interesting change of laws.  Back in the 70s & 80s, Amtrak would do on board audits unannounced of train crews.  Everything was searched.  Including your personal bags. 

Contraband was found such as illegal ticket stock, personal liquor, weapons, drugs, etc.  Sometimes it resulted in a disciplinary hearing for the employee involved. 

Station audits were also done unannounced.  Again, everything on Amtrak property was subject to search and inspection.

MEKoch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Interesting change of laws.  Back in the 70s &
> 80s, Amtrak would do on board audits unannounced
> of train crews.  Everything was searched. 
> Including your personal bags. 
>
> Contraband was found such as illegal ticket stock,
> personal liquor, weapons, drugs, etc.  Sometimes
> it resulted in a disciplinary hearing for the
> employee involved. 
>
> Station audits were also done unannounced. 
> Again, everything on Amtrak property was subject
> to search and inspection.

That's been the traditional view by corporations. And it remains the view for many companies on hot button items like personal weapons in a personal car on company property. Or cameras on company property. As mentioned above, companies don't need probable cause, they can employ any cause or no cause on their own property, and in conformity with their employee manuals, policies, etc.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MEKoch Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Interesting change of laws.  Back in the 70s &
> > 80s, Amtrak would do on board audits
> unannounced
> > of train crews.  Everything was searched. 
> > Including your personal bags. 
> >
> > Contraband was found such as illegal ticket
> stock,
> > personal liquor, weapons, drugs, etc. 
> Sometimes
> > it resulted in a disciplinary hearing for the
> > employee involved. 
> >
> > Station audits were also done unannounced. 
> > Again, everything on Amtrak property was
> subject
> > to search and inspection.
>
> That's been the traditional view by corporations.
> And it remains the view for many companies on hot
> button items like personal weapons in a personal
> car on company property. Or cameras on company
> property. As mentioned above, companies don't need
> probable cause, they can employ any cause or no
> cause on their own property, and in conformity
> with their employee manuals, policies, etc.


A few years ago, a shop I worked at would pick a day and random drug test random people. That's not out of the normal, what else they did was have a drug dog not only go through the parking lot and sniff our cars but walk up to us at our machines and sniff us!! Can you believe that?!

Posted from Android

>A private company is now a person due to Citizens United scotus case.

The US concept of a corporation being a legal body before the law dates to at least 1819, if not the 1790s.

EtoinShrdlu Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >A private company is now a person due to Citizens
> United scotus case.
>
> The US concept of a corporation being a legal body
> before the law dates to at least 1819, if not the
> 1790s.

Yes.  It is embedded in US and state law to prevent individual shareholders from being personally sued, among other reasons.

It's become fashionable to say the SCOTUS decision "created" the precedent, but like much extremist talk radio / fund raising, etc it is wrong. What the SCOTUS did say was you can't have freedoms for some people, and not for other people. 

To "incorporate" actually takes the Latin word for body, corpus, and uses it "to  make into a body"