Fired Amtrak worker who refused vaccine and testing loses every claim

In December 2021, Amtrak brought back weekly testing and invited him to return. He declined – testing, he said, also violated his beliefs. He wanted to come back under mask and sanitation rules only. Amtrak refused. 

A formal noncompliance warning followed in June 2022. Then a disciplinary hearing. On July 13, the worker was terminated. 

That October, Amtrak offered reinstatement on a “leniency basis” with seniority and vacation rights restored, provided he accepted responsibility and waived damages claims. He turned that down too. 

Nearly three years later, he sued – naming Amtrak, the Transportation Communications Union/IAM, and Biden, with claims under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, a constitutional Bivens claim, DC fraudulent concealment law, and a federal conspiracy statute. 

Every claim failed. The OSHA Act gives employees no private right of action to sue employers over safety standards or retaliatory discharge – that power sits with the Secretary of Labor. A constitutional damages remedy was unavailable because Congress had already provided alternative routes through Title VII and OSHA’s own complaint process. The worker had pursued neither.