NJ Transit's fired compliance chief sues agency, citing 'unsafe culture'

The former compliance chief of NJ Transit has filed a federal whistleblower suit, claiming his efforts to draw attention to safety problems were met with retaliation and that he was instructed not to put anything in writing — and if he did, to mark documents as "confidential " and "privileged" to circumvent public records laws.

Todd Barretta, who was fired in August before he testified before a state legislative committee about problems at the nation's third largest transportation agency, filed the suit this week.

In the complaint, Barretta said the agency violated his rights under the Federal Railroad Safety Act when it retaliated against him for reporting "numerous hazardous safety conditions" and his "refusal to violate or assist in the violation of any Federal Railroad Administration rule or regulation relating to railroad safety."

The complaint also asks the Occupational Health and Safety Administration to "conduct a thorough investigation" of NJ Transit's conduct and "order the maximum amount of punitive damages."

Barretta also seeks reinstatement, as well as damage awards for emotional distress, economic hardship and attorney's fees.

Barretta asks OSHA to "send an unmistakable message" to NJ Transit "that its unsafe culture of retaliation against employees who report safety hazards or who seek to comply with (federal) safety rules must change once and for all."

Nancy Snyder, a spokeswoman for NJ Transit, declined to comment.

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Barretta was hired in March to evaluate the agency's compliance with federal safety rules. NJ Transit had been under close scrutiny from the Federal Railroad Administration for its safety compliance practices in the first half of 2016.

Just as the federal agency concluded its review of NJ Transit, a commuter train crashed into Hoboken Terminal in September 2016, killing one person and injuring more than 100 others.

In his complaint, and in testimony to state lawmakers in August 2017, Barretta said his efforts to draw attention to safety compliance issues were repeatedly met with resistance from the agency's top management.

Barretta testified in August that he was instructed not to put anything in writing and to mark documents as "confidential" and "privileged" to circumvent the state's Open Public Records Act as well as to avoid having such information used later in court.

NJ Transit demoted Barretta, then fired him in August, claiming he had not returned his work laptop, even though he received a signed receipt acknowledging that he had.

NJ Transit officials claimed that Barretta had misused his company vehicle. The agency sued him in September, seeking a court declaration that he did not have protection under the state's Conscientious Employee Protection Act, a shield for whistleblowers.

In his complaint, Barretta said "the self-serving public relations purpose of the suit became clear" when Gov. Chris Christie cited it as a reason to not believe his scathing testimony in the legislature.

Barretta said the true purpose of the suit against him was "to censor, intimidate, and silence" him, and said he wasn't even served with a copy of the complaint until three months later.

Barretta said he testified voluntarily before a joint legislative committee that had been investigating NJ Transit in the months following the Hoboken crash.

"I reached out to the committee because I believed it was important for legislators and the public to be aware of what I had learned about (NJ Transit's) culture of safety non-compliance and retaliation," he said in the complaint.

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According to Barretta, he got a taste of that culture in his first month on the job.

He said he compiled an initial list of safety issues at NJ Transit, including the agency's compliance with federal rules on reporting employee hours of service, as well as compliance with operating rules and inspection reports.

He also raised concerns about NJ Transit's compliance with the requirement for positive train control, a collision avoidance system Congress mandated for railroads in 2008.

In a March 31 meeting with Executive Director Steven Santoro, Barretta said he was "admonished for placing such items in writing."

Throughout April and May, senior officials at NJ Transit repeatedly discouraged Barretta from putting his concerns in writing and was told to "stop complaining."

By the end of May, Barretta said he was told he would not be allowed to talk to lower level employees without permission from members of the executive team, and noticed that he was not being invited to participate in regularly scheduled meetings.

In July, Santoro and Jacqueline Halldow, the chief of staff, told him he was being demoted in favor of someone who better understood "public agency culture."

In early August, Barretta was told he would be suspended for 30 days, pending an investigation, the details of which the agency would not reveal. He was fired on Aug. 21.

Barretta's suit isn't the only legal action that's been taken against NJ Transit.

In June, the family of Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, the woman who was killed in the Hoboken Terminal crash, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the agency in Hudson County.

In November 2016, Neil Yellin, the agency's former deputy executive director, filed an age discrimination lawsuit against NJ Transit in Essex County, claiming he'd been pushed aside for Amy Herbold, a younger and less experienced aide to Christie.