Hohn v. BNSF Railway Co., No. 12-1041 (8th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, who is visually impaired, filed suit against BNSF, alleging that BNSF retaliated against him for reporting a safety violation and that BNSF discriminated against him based on his disability. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of BNSF on the whistleblower claim, and the jury found in favor of BNSF on the discrimination claims. The court held that plaintiff's whistleblower claim was untimely and summary judgment should have been granted on that ground; the district court did not err in excluding as irrelevant the evidence of plaintiff's safety complaint; sufficient evidence supported the jury's finding that plaintiff could not perform the essential functions of the locomotive machinist position with or without reasonable accommodation; and the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff's motion to set aside the order awarding costs.
Court Description: Civil case - Employment Discrimination. Plaintiff's Nebraska law Whistleblower claim was untimely and the district court did not err in granting defendant's motion for summary judgment on the claim; district court did not err in excluding evidence of the Whistleblower complaint in the trial of plaintiff's disability discrimination claim; defendant's judgment on plaintiff's disability discrimination claim is affirmed, as the evidence supported the jury's finding that plaintiff could not perform the essential functions of the locomotive machinist position with or without a reasonable accommodation.
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