View all text of Subpart C [§ 246.201 - § 246.215]

§ 246.205 - List of certified signal employees and recordkeeping.

(a) After a railroad's certification program has received its initial approval from FRA, pursuant to § 246.103(f)(1), the railroad must maintain a list of each person who is currently certified as a signal employee by the railroad. The list must include the date of the railroad's certification decision and the date the person's signal employee certification expires. If a railroad classifies its certified signal employees into occupational categories or subcategories by class, task, location, or other suitable terminology, the list must indicate the occupational categories and subcategories in which each certified signal employee is certified to perform service.

(b) The list shall:

(1) Be updated at least annually;

(2) Be made available, upon request, to FRA representatives in a timely manner; and

(3) Be available either:

(i) In electronic format pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section; or

(ii) At the divisional or regional headquarters of the railroad.

(c) If a railroad elects to maintain its list in an electronic format, it must:

(1) Maintain an information technology security program adequate to ensure the integrity of the electronic data storage system, including the prevention of unauthorized access to the program logic or the list;

(2) Have its program and data storage system protected by a security system that utilizes an employee identification number and password, or a comparable method, to establish appropriate levels of program access meeting all of the following standards:

(i) No two individuals have the same electronic identity; and

(ii) An entry on the list cannot be deleted or altered by any individual after the entry is certified by the employee who created the entry;

(3) Have any amendment to the list either:

(i) Electronically stored apart from the entry on the list that it amends; or

(ii) Electronically attached to the entry on the list as information without changing the original entry;

(4) Ensure that each amendment to the list uniquely identifies the person making the amendment;

(5) Ensure that the system employed for data storage permits reasonable access and retrieval of the information which can be easily produced in an electronic or printed format that can be:

(i) Provided to FRA representatives within a timely manner; and

(ii) Authenticated by a designated representative of the railroad as a true and accurate copy of the railroad's records if requested to do so by an FRA representative.

(d) It shall be unlawful for any railroad to knowingly or any individual to willfully:

(1) Make, cause to be made, or participate in the making of a false entry on the list required by this section; or

(2) Otherwise falsify such list through material misstatement, omission, or mutilation.