Sec. 115. Federal Railroad Administration safety workforce management
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/bill/119/hr/7662/ih/section-115·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that contains the results of a review of the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Railroad Safety inspector and specialist staff resource management, including— an assessment of the changes in the number of Federal Railroad Administration safety inspectors and specialists, including— the number of safety inspector and specialist vacancies; the number of such positions requested in each of the budget requests for the last 10 fiscal years; and the actual workforce levels during each of such fiscal years; an assessment of geographic allocation plans, potential hiring and time-to-hire challenges, expected retirement rates, and recruitment and retention strategies; a description of any internal Federal Railroad Administration goals for compliance inspection rates across the network of regulated activities, and whether requested and actual safety inspector and specialist workforce levels align with such goals; whether the system used for the notification, processing, or storing of civil penalty enforcement cases and other compliance actions recommended by safety inspectors and specialists against railroads, shippers of hazardous materials, and other respondents effectively supports the Federal Railroad Administration’s compliance inspection and enforcement program; whether any macroeconomic or other conditions exist or have existed under which it has been difficult for the Federal Railroad Administration to fill safety inspector and specialist vacancies, and the degree to which special rates of pay or other recruitment and retention practices could ameliorate or could have ameliorated such difficulty; and recommendations for any reforms that could— improve the recruitment, hiring, and retention of Federal Railroad Administration safety inspectors and specialists, including potential quality of life and workplace improvements; improve Federal Railroad Administration workforce management processes; or increase the capacity for inspection activities, if such capacity is identified as deficient, at the Federal Railroad Administration, including activities relating to the transportation of hazardous materials.