SO ORDERED.
M. CYNTHIA DOUGLASS
Chief Administrative Appeals Judge
DAVID G. DYE
Administrative Appeals Judge
[ENDNOTES]
1 49 U.S.C.A. § 31105 (West 2007).
2 29 C.F.R. Part 1978 (2006).
3 Recommended Decision and Order Granting Respondent's Motion for Summary Decision (R. D. & O.) at 25.
4 Id. at 6.
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 Id.
8 Declaration of Jack Peetz, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Crete Carrier Corporation (Peetz Dec.) at 2, para. 10.
9 Id. Hours-of-service regulations limit the number of hours a commercial truck driver may operate his or her vehicle during any given day and 7-day period. Peetz Dec. at 2, para. 57. The regulations applicable in October 2003 provided:
(a) Except as provided in §§ 395.1(b)(1), 395.1(f), and 395.1(h), no motor carrier shall permit or require any driver used by it to drive nor shall any such driver drive:
(1) More than 10 hours following 8 consecutive hours off duty; or
(2) For any period after having been on duty 15 hours following 8 consecutive hours off duty.
(b) No motor carrier shall permit or require a driver of a commercial motor vehicle to drive, nor shall any driver drive, regardless of the number of motor carriers using the driver's services, for any period after—
(1) Having been on duty 60 hours in any 7 consecutive days if the employing motor carrier does not operate commercial motor vehicles every day of the week; or
(2) Having been on duty 70 hours in any period of 8 consecutive days if the employing motor carrier operates commercial motor vehicles every day of the week.
49 C.F.R. § 395.3 (2002). The regulations have subsequently been amended, effective January 4, 2004. 49 C.F.R. § 395.3 (2003).
10 Peetz Dec. at 1, para. 5.
11 R. D. & O. at 6.
12 Id.
13 Peetz Dec. at 2, para. 11.
14 R. D. & O. at 7.
15 Id.
16 Id.
17 Id. at 8.
18 Bettner Deposition (Bettner Depo.) at 161, 164-165.
19 R. D. & O. at 8.
20 Id. at 8.
21 Bettner Declaration (Bettner Dec.) at 7, para. 34.
22 R. D. & O. at 8.
23 Bettner Dec. at 7, para. 37.
24 R. D. & O. at 8.
25 Bettner Dec. at 9, para. 48.
26 R. D. & O. at 8.
27 Id.; Bettner Dec. at 9, para. 49.
28 Bettner Dec. at 10, para. 50.
29 Id. at 11, para. 56.
30 Id. at 11, para. 58.
31 R. D. & O. at 8.
32 Bettner Dec. at 12, para. 63.
33 Id. at 12-13, paras. 64-65.
34 Id. at 13, para. 68.
35 R. D. & O. at 9.
36 Id.; Bettner Dec. at 13, para. 70.
37 R. D. & O. at 9.
38 Id.
39 Id.
40 Id.
41 Id.
42 Id.
43 Declaration of Chris Lingbloom, Dispatcher for Crete Carrier Corporation (Lingbloom Dec.) at 2, para. 12.
44 R. D. & O. at 10.
45 Bettner Dec. at 19, para. 99.
46 Id. at 19, para. 101.
47 Id. at 19-20, para. 102.
48 R. D. & O. at 10.
49 Bettner Dec. at 20, para. 105.
50 Declaration of Jon Thompson, Fleet Manager, Crete Carrier Corporation, Ottawa, Illinois Terminial (Thompson Dec.) at 4, para. 20.
51 Bettner Dec. at 20, para.105.
52 Thompson Dec. at 4, paras. 21-24.
53 R. D. & O. at 10.
54 Bettner Dec. at 20-21, paras. 106-110.
55 Exhibits to Respondent's Motion to Dismiss (R. X.) B.
56 R. D. & O. at 13-19.
57 Id. at 23.
58 Id. at 24.
59 29 C.F.R. § 1978.109(c)(2); Monroe v. Cumberland Transp. Corp., ARB No. 01-101, ALJ No. 00-STA-50 (ARB Sept. 26, 2001); Cook v. Shaffer Trucking Inc., ARB No. 01-051, ALJ No. 00-STA-17 (ARB May 30, 2001).
60 29 C.F.R. § 1978.109(c)(2).
61 Secretary's Order No. 1-2002, (Delegation of Authority and Responsibility to the Administrative Review Board), 67 Fed. Reg. 64,272 (Oct. 17, 2002); 29 C.F.R. § 1978.109(a).
62 Hardy v. Mail Contractors of America, ARB No. 03-07, 2002-STA-22, slip op. at 2 (ARB Jan. 30, 2004).
63 Fed. R. Civ. P. 56.
64 Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986).
65 Bobreski v. U.S. EPA, 284 F. Supp. 2d 67, 72-73 (D.D.C. 2003).
66 Lee v. Schneider Nat'l, Inc., ARB No. 02-102, ALJ No. 2002- STA-25, slip op. at 2 (ARB Aug. 28, 2003); Bushway v. Yellow Freight, Inc., ARB No. 01-018, ALJ No. 00-STA-52, slip op. at 2 (ARB Dec. 13, 2002).
67 Bobreski, at 73 (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986)).
68 Bobreski, at 73.
69 29 C.F.R. § 18.40(c). See Webb v. Carolina Power & Light Co., No. 93-ERA-42, slip op. at 4-6 (Sec'y July 17, 1995).
70 A person may not retaliate against an employee because:
(A) the employee, or another person at the employee's request, has filed a complaint or begun a proceeding related to a violation of a commercial motor vehicle safety regulation, standard, or order, or has testified or will testify in such a proceeding; or
(B) the employee refuses to operate a vehicle because –
(i) the operation violates a regulation, standard, or order of the United States related to the commercial motor vehicle safety or health; or
(ii) the employee has a reasonable apprehension of serious injury to the employee or the public because of the vehicle's unsafe condition.
(2) Under paragraph (1)(B)(ii) of this subsection, an employee's apprehension of serious injury is reasonable only if a reasonable individual in the circumstances then confronting the employee would conclude that the unsafe condition establishes a real danger of accident, injury, or serious impairment to health. To qualify for protection, the employee must have sought from the employer, and been unable to obtain, correction of the unsafe condition.
49 U.S.C.A. § 31105 (A), (B).
71 BSP Trans, Inc. v. U.S. Dep't of Labor, 160 F.3d 38, 45 (1st Cir. 1998); Clean Harbors Envt'l. Servs., Inc. v. Herman, 146 F.3d 12, 21 (1st Cir. 1998) (quoting Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401 (1971)); Yellow Freight Sys., Inc. v. Reich, 27 F.3d 1133, 1138 (6th Cir. 1994); Moon v. Transp. Drivers, Inc., 836 F.2d 226, 228 (6th Cir. 1987).
72 St. Mary's Honor Ctr. v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 507 (1993).
73 Feltner v. Century Trucking, Ltd., ARB No. 03-118, ALJ Nos. 03-STA-1, 03-STA-2, slip op. at 4-5 (ARB Oct. 27, 2004); Densieski v. La Corte Farm Equip., ARB No. 03-145, ALJ No. 2003-STA-30, slip op. at 4 (ARB Oct. 20, 2004). See Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 142-43 (2000); St. Mary's Honor Ctr., 509 U.S. at 513; Texas Dep't of Cmty. Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 252-53 (1981); McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802 (1973); Poll v. R.J. Vyhnalek Trucking, ARB No. 99-110, ALJ No. 96-STA-35, slip op. at 5-6 (ARB June 28, 2002).
74 Calhoun v. United Parcel Serv., ARB No. 00-026, ALJ No. 99-STA-7, slip op. at 5 (ARB Nov. 27, 2002).
75 St. Mary's Honor Ctr., 509 U.S. at 502; Densieski, slip op. at 4; Gale v. Ocean Imaging & Ocean Res., Inc., ARB No. 98-143, ALJ No. 97-ERA-38, slip op. at 8 (ARB July 31, 2002); Poll, slip op. at 5.
76 Respondent's Motion to Dismiss at 18-20; Thompson Dec. at 3, para. 15.
77 The ALJ found that Bettner failed to adduce a prima facie case because he neither established that he engaged in protected activity, nor that Crete took adverse action in response to any such activity. R. D. & O. at 14-23. Given our disposition of the case, we take no position on the propriety of these findings.
78 450 U.S. at 256.
79 Coxen v. UPS, ARB No. 04-093, ALJ No. 03-STA-13, slip op. at 5 (ARB Feb. 28, 2006).
80 Smith v. Esicorp, Inc., No. 93-ERA-00016, slip op. at 15 (Sec'y Mar. 13, 1996).
81 Talbert v. Washington Pub. Power Supply Sys., ARB No. 96-023, ALJ No. 93-ERA-35, slip op. at 5 (ARB Sept. 27, 1996).
82 Jenkins v. U.S. EPA, ARB No. 98-146, ALJ No. 88-SWD-2, slip op. at 18 (ARB Feb. 28, 2003). Accord St. Mary's Honor Ctr., 530 U.S. at 507-508.
83 Gale, slip op. at 10 (citing Kahn v. U.S. Sec'y of Labor, 14 F.3d 342, 349 (7th Cir. 1994)). Accord Ransom v. CSC Consulting, Inc., 217 F.3d 467, 471 (7th Cir. 2000) ("[t]his court does not sit as a super-personnel department and will not second-guess an employer's decisions"); Skouby v. The Prudential Ins. Co., 130 F.3d 794, 795 (7th Cir. 1997) (same); Bienkowski v. American Airlines, Inc., 851 F.2d 1503, 1507-1508 (5th Cir. 1988) (discrimination statute "was not intended to be a vehicle for judicial second-guessing of employment decisions, nor was it intended to transform the courts into personnel managers;" statute cannot protect employees "from erroneous or even arbitrary personnel decisions, but only from decisions which are unlawfully motivated").
84 On December 16, 2006, Bettner filed a Motion to Allow Supplemental Briefs and to Expedite Proceeding. Bettner requested that he be permitted to address the significance of the Supreme Court's recent decision in White v. Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry.Co., 548 U.S. ____, No. 05-259 (2006) on the issue whether Crete subjected Bettner to an adverse employment action. Crete opposed Bettner's motion. Given our disposition of the case, Bettner's motion is DENIED as moot.