Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Union Pacific Conductor’s ADA Suit as Time-Barred
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a published opinion on October 26 (No. 26-40061, Bien v. Union Pacific) reversing a district court’s dismissal of conductor James Bien’s lawsuit as time-barred under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and remanded the case.
Bien worked for Union Pacific as a conductor and was removed from the job after failing two vision tests. About two years later he passed a vision test the railroad had given him by mistake, but the railroad refused him a follow-up test to lift his work restriction, and he sued.
Judge Jerry E. Smith’s opinion held that Bien was not unambiguously excluded from the Harris class action, so the statute of limitations on his claim was tolled under American Pipe. The court did not reach whether Bien exhausted his administrative remedies, leaving that question to the district court.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 联合太平洋铁路货运列车。图片：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 2.0。
