One of the most frequently asked questions regarding the Hours-of-Service (HOS) law is what duties can be performed at the end of a crew’s 12 hours.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has always allowed a crew member to make a brief tie-up call or fax a time slip or delay report to inform the railroad of the crew’s off-duty time.

The FRA calls this "incidental service". However some railroads are now requiring the conductor and/or engineer to input more and more data into a computer prior to being released from duty. Because of the increased time and activities involved doing so may violate the Hours of Service Act if performed after your 12 hours

The FRA will allow and does consider "incidental service" the transmission of the following information (either in person, by telephone, fax, or by a quick computer tie-up after your 12 hours);

1. Relieved time (time employee stopped performing service) or the amount of off-duty time required (S or 10 hours);
2. Released time (time employee begins the off-duty period),
3. Board positioning/placement.
4. Telephone number/contact location, if different from the number listed with the crew office

The FRA maintains that even limited administrative duties are considered as rime on duty under the law. A crew member who "willfully" performs administrative duties after his 12 hours may be fined up to $5,000 and imprisoned for up to two years.

Railroads that require crew members to perform more than "incidental service" or fail to provide a means for immediate tie-up will be considered in violation of the federal Hours of Service Act and also subject to fines and imprisonment

Administrative duties that the FRA considers a violation of the HOS Act if performed after your 12 hours include:

• Preparing or submitting work reports or accident reports;

• Any other administrative tasks required of an employee other than Use "incidental service described above;

• All waiting periods associated with the unavailability of tie-up facilities such is a busy telephone, fax machine not transmitting or a non-working computer terminal.

Crews are reminded to secure their trains prior to the expiration of their hours of service, even if the dispatcher claims that a dog-catch crew will relieve them

Although it is lawful to sit on your train and wait for transportation to arrive for any amount of time after your 12 hours of service have expired, it is a violation of the Hours of Service Act to perform any type of service such as tying hand brakes, aiding and assisting another train or operating your train after your 12 hours have expired.

Oftentimes, a dispatcher will claim that a crew is on its way, only to have the deadhead van arrive without a crew. This situation forces the crew whose service time has expired to simply sit and wait until a new crew arrives because it is no longer legal for them to tie handbrakes on their train

If instructed to perform service after your 12 hours, employees should not place themselves in a position of being insubordinate, but should report any violation to a labor union representative or the FRA.