On May 18 the Montana Supreme Court affirmed Judge Reynolds' decision that a legislative scheme to elect Supreme Court justices from "districts" violates the Montana Constitution.Before turning to the merits of the case, the Court first considered and rejected a...
Month: May 2012
CDC Says Montana is Second-Most Dangerous State for Drivers
A recent analysis of Centers for Disease Control statistics indicates that Montana is the second-most dangerous state to drive in. Montana had 23.1 deaths per 100,000 residents in the period from 2007-2009. In 2007, 11.1 of these Montana deaths were related to drunk...
The Last Full Measure of Devotion
Memorial Day greetings to you and yours.
Another Short Statute of Limitations
Your deadline for appealing from any adverse action on your conductor certification is going to be 120 days. That's even shorter than the deadline for retaliation and discrimination. First you'll have a hearing before carrier operating department officials. Then the...
BNSF Plans 140 New Hires
The Great Falls Tribune reports today that BNSF plans about 100 new hires around Montana, including 48 in Havre, 35 in Glendive, and 18 in Glasgow. The same article reports BNSF intends to replace 109,629 wood ties between Havre and Browning with concrete and perform...
Montana, Other States, and John McCain File SCOTUS Briefs Urging Deference to Montana’s Century-Old Campaign Finance Statute
As we reported earlier this year, the Montana Supreme Court ruled in December of 2011 that the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision did not invalidate Montana's 100-year-old statutory regulations on corporate campaign spending. Predictably, Western Tradition...
BNSF Backs Off Required Reporting of Off-Duty Medical Care
Earlier this year BNSF announced new Safety Rule S-26-3-1. The rule purported to require disclosure of private medical records and "fitness for duty" evaluations by BNSF's Medical and Environmental Health Department whenever employees were diagnosed with certain...
