Protections for Transit Workers under Section 5333(b) Urban Program

Under 49 U.S.C. 5333(b), when Federal funds are used to acquire, improve, or operate a transit system, the Department must ensure that the recipient of those funds establishes arrangements to protect the rights of affected transit employees. Federal law requires such arrangements to be ``fair and equitable,'' and the Department of Labor (DOL or "the Department") must certify the arrangements before the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) can award certain funds to grantees. These employee protective arrangements must include provisions that may be necessary for the preservation of rights, privileges, and benefits under existing collective bargaining agreements or otherwise; the continuation of collective bargaining rights; the protection of individual employees against a worsening of their positions related to employment; assurances of employment to employees of acquired transportation systems; assurances of priority of reemployment of employees whose employment is ended or who are laid off; and paid training or retraining programs. 49 U.S.C. 5333(b)(2). Pursuant to 29 CFR Part 215, upon receipt of copies of applications for Federal assistance subject to 49 U.S.C. 5333(b) from the FTA, together with a request for the certification of employee protective arrangements from the Department of Labor, DOL will process those applications, which must be in final form. The FTA will provide the Department with the information necessary to enable the Department to process employee protections for certification of the project.

The latest form for Protections for Transit Workers under Section 5333(b) Urban Program expires 2023-06-30 and can be found here.