(a) Waiver.—
A railroad carrier or railroad carriers and all labor organizations representing any class or craft of directly affected covered service employees of the railroad carrier or railroad carriers, may jointly petition the Secretary of Transportation for approval of a waiver, in whole or in part, of compliance with this chapter, to enable the establishment of one or more pilot projects to demonstrate the possible benefits of implementing alternatives to the strict application of the requirements of this chapter to such class or craft of employees, including requirements concerning maximum on-duty and minimum off-duty periods. Based on such a joint petition, the Secretary may, after notice and opportunity for comment, waive in whole or in part compliance with this chapter for a period of no more than two years, if the Secretary determines that such waiver of compliance is in the public interest and is consistent with railroad safety. Any such waiver may, based on a new petition, be extended for additional periods of up to two years, after notice and opportunity for comment. An explanation of any waiver granted under this section shall be published in the Federal Register.
(b) Report.— The Secretary of Transportation shall submit to Congress, no later than January 1, 1997, a report that
(1) explains and analyzes the effectiveness of all pilot projects established pursuant to a waiver granted under subsection (a);
(2) describes the status of all other waivers granted under subsection (a) and their related pilot projects, if any; and
(3) recommends appropriate legislative changes to this chapter.
(c) Definition.—
For purposes of this section, the term directly affected covered service employees means covered service employees to whose hours of service the terms of the waiver petitioned for specifically apply.
