Government sues Union Pacific over using flawed test to disqualify color blind railroad workers

By JOSH FUNK
AP Business Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The federal government has joined 21 former rail workers in suing Union Pacific over the way it used a vision test to disqualify workers the railroad believed were color blind and might have trouble reading signals telling them to stop a train. The lawsuit announced Monday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the first by the government in what could eventually be hundreds — if not thousands — of lawsuits over the way Union Pacific disqualified people with a variety of health issues. Union Pacific has vigorously defended itself in court, arguing it needs to disqualify these workers to preserve rail safety.