Union Pacific

In 2015, six current and former Union Pacific employees filed a putative, nationwide class action lawsuit in federal court called Harris et. al v. Union Pacific Railroad Company, Court file No: 2:15-cv-01865-JCC, later changed to 8:16cv381-JFB-SMB. The class alleged that Union Pacific’s policy of requesting genetic information from its employees as well as its employment actions that adversely affected employees—including removals of service—for reasons related to its Fitness-for-Duty determinations constituted violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). After the case was transferred to the District of Nebraska, in 2018, a Federal District Court Judge certified the proposed class. Union Pacific appealed this certification to the Federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2020, the appeals court sided with Union Pacific and reversed class certification. Since the Eighth Circuit’s ruling to decertify the class in 2020, we have been pursuing these same claims on an individual basis on behalf of many former members of the now-decertified class.

If you are a current or former Union Pacific or other railroad company employee and your employment has been adversely affected, including being issued a removal from service, due to a perceived, actual, or record of a disability or medical condition, you may have a discrimination claim under federal or state law. Please be aware that there are time limits known as statutes of limitation. If you do not pursue legal action within the time periods provided by law, you will be ineligible to pursue some (or all) of your potential claims and some (or all) of your potential recovery may be denied. Therefore, if you are interested in an attorney evaluating your potential claims, it is imperative that you call us or a separate attorney as soon as possible.

To speak to someone from our firm regarding your potential claims, please reach out to our intake clerk at intake@nka.com or 612-256-3267. Or contact Laura A. Baures at 612-256-3237 or lbaures@nka.com.