Legally reviewed by Colin X. Fitzgerald - Doran & Murphy, PLLC
One of the most common misconceptions in railroad injury law is this: “I wasn’t officially on the clock, so I probably don’t have a case.” Workers often think this, but in many of those cases, they are wrong. FELA’s coverage is broader than most railroad workers realize, and the question of whether you are protected does not turn simply on whether you had punched in or whether your shift had technically begun. The determining factor is whether your injury occurred within the scope of your employment — a legal standard that courts have interpreted broadly and consistently in favor of injured workers.
If you were hurt on railroad property before or after your shift, on your way to a work assignment, waiting for a crew call, attending a mandatory safety briefing, or retrieving equipment you needed for the job, you may have a viable FELA claim even if you were not on the clock at the moment of injury.
What “Scope of Employment” Means Under FELA
FELA provides a remedy for injuries sustained by railroad employees “while employed” by a railroad engaged in interstate commerce. 45 USCS § 51. Courts have interpreted the “while employed” language broadly, consistent with FELA’s remedial purpose of providing liberal recovery for injured workers. Conrail v. Gottshall, 512 U.S. 532, 543 (1994). The scope of employment inquiry does not ask whether the employee was being paid at the moment of injury. It asks whether the activity the worker was engaged in at the time of injury was sufficiently connected to their employment with the railroad.
Activities that are incidental to employment — arriving at or departing from a work site, preparing for a shift, attending to equipment or gear required for the job — generally fall within FELA’s coverage even when they occur outside of paid work hours. As courts have consistently recognized, an employee is generally covered from the time they step onto railroad property until signing out and for a reasonable period of time thereafter. And there is no requirement that the employee be on railroad property at all — what matters is the connection to railroad employment.
The “Traversing” vs. “Commuting” Distinction
Courts have drawn an important distinction between two categories of pre- and post-shift injuries:
Traversing cases — where a worker is injured in close proximity to the job site while arriving at or departing from work, within a reasonable time before or after the workday — are generally found to fall within FELA’s coverage. Caillouette v. Baltimore & O. C. T. R. Co., 705 F.2d 243, 246 (1983). The worker is in the process of transitioning between their personal life and their employment duties, and the injury occurs at or near that transition point. Courts have held that “traversing the work site is a necessary incident of the day’s work.”
Commuting cases — where a worker is injured during the ordinary commute to and from work, far from the job site and before any work-related activity has begun — generally fall outside FELA’s coverage. The commute itself, absent some employer-imposed requirement or connection, is not considered employment activity. Commuters are excluded from coverage for two reasons: they are not required to commute on their employer’s trains, and while commuting, they are in no greater danger than any other member of the commuting public. The exception to this if you are commuting to or from work in a railroad-organized transportation vehicle.
Common Pre- and Post-Shift Scenarios That May Fall Within FELA Coverage
The following situations frequently give rise to FELA coverage disputes. Workers in each of these situations are often told — incorrectly — that they don’t have a claim:
Walking to or from the Work Site
An employee injured while walking from a railroad-provided or railroad-adjacent parking area to the work site — or from the work site back to their vehicle at the end of the day — is frequently within the scope of employment, particularly where the railroad controls, designates, or has knowledge of the route being used. An employee still on the employer’s property who is leaving work within a reasonable time after the work day is over is certainly within the protection of FELA.
Pre-Shift Equipment Preparation
A worker who reports to the yard or shop before their shift officially begins to inspect, prepare, or retrieve equipment required for the job may be within the scope of employment for that preparatory activity. If the railroad expects or requires workers to be ready to work the moment the shift begins, the preparation period that makes that readiness possible is part of the employment.
Mandatory Safety Briefings and Trainings
Attendance at a mandatory safety briefing, training, or rules class — even if it occurs outside of scheduled shift hours — is a work-related activity that falls squarely within the scope of employment. Workers injured going to or from, or during, mandatory railroad programs are covered.
Waiting for a Crew Call or Assignment
Workers who are in a designated on-call status — waiting at a crew facility, a hotel provided by the railroad, or another railroad-designated location for an assignment — are generally within the scope of employment. The railroad’s control over where the worker must be present during the waiting period is the key factor.
Layover Injuries
Workers injured during a layover — when they are away from home on a multi-day assignment, and the railroad is providing lodging — may be covered even during off-duty hours, depending on the circumstances. Courts have found FELA coverage where workers were injured at railroad-provided lodging facilities during layovers, because the layover itself is a consequence of and condition of the employment. An employee who is injured while he avails himself of housing which his employer has provided and implicitly encouraged him to use is within the scope of his employment for purposes of FELA.
Retrieving Personal Protective Equipment or Tools
A worker who returns to railroad property after their shift to retrieve required gear, tools, or personal protective equipment left behind may be within the scope of employment for that activity, particularly where the railroad requires the use of that equipment and the worker’s return is necessitated by that requirement.
What the Railroad Will Argue — And Why It Often Fails
When a pre- or post-shift injury occurs, railroads almost universally argue that the worker was outside the scope of employment at the moment of injury. This argument takes several forms:
“Your shift hadn’t started yet.”
The railroad will point to the payroll record showing the worker was not yet on the clock. FELA’s coverage is not determined by clock-in time but by the nature of the activity and its relationship to employment. The scope of employment encompasses “acts incidental to the employment as well as the actual work.”
“You were on public property, not railroad property.”
Courts have consistently rejected the argument that FELA coverage is limited to injuries on railroad-owned property. What matters is the connection to employment, not the owner of the land.
“You were commuting.”
Railroads attempt to characterize pre- and post-shift injuries as ordinary commuting accidents outside FELA’s scope. The traversing/commuting distinction requires a careful analysis of the specific facts — the proximity to the job site, the railroad’s control over the route, and the worker’s purpose at the time of injury. Many situations railroads label as “commuting” are actually traversing cases covered by FELA.
“You were on personal time.”
Layover injuries in particular are often challenged on the ground that the worker was off duty and engaged in personal activity. Courts look at whether the activity was consistent with what an employee on layover might reasonably be expected to do, and whether the layover itself was a required condition of the employment.
Why Early Legal Involvement Is Critical
Scope of employment disputes are fact-intensive. The specific circumstances of where you were, what you were doing, why you were there, and what the railroad’s expectations were — all of these matter. Evidence that is relevant to those questions can disappear quickly: surveillance footage, sign-in records, communications about the worker’s assignment, testimony from coworkers about the railroad’s practices. An injured worker who waits months or years to speak with a FELA attorney may find that the evidence needed to establish scope of employment has been lost, overwritten, or simply faded from memory.
The Three-Year Statute of Limitations Still Applies
Whether or not scope of employment is disputed, FELA’s three-year statute of limitations runs from the date of injury. A worker who accepts the railroad’s coverage denial and walks away may be giving up a viable claim — and if they later change their mind, the statute may have run.
If you were injured in connection with your railroad employment — before, after, or during your shift — the right move is to speak with a FELA attorney before concluding that you do not have a case. The question of coverage is a legal one. It should be decided by a lawyer, not by a claims agent whose job is to minimize the railroad’s exposure.
The Bottom Line
“I wasn’t on the clock” is not the same as “I wasn’t covered.” FELA’s scope of employment extends to activities that are incidental to railroad work — arriving at the job site, departing after the shift, preparing equipment, attending mandatory programs, waiting for assignments. Courts have repeatedly rejected the railroad industry’s attempts to draw a bright line at the punch card, and injured workers who accept the railroad’s initial coverage denial often give up claims to which they were entitled.
If you were hurt on or near railroad property, or in connection with railroad work, before or after your shift officially began, do not assume you have no case. Call us or contact us online and let an experienced FELA attorney evaluate your situation.
