A federal civil-rights lawsuit on behalf of a Saline County man alleging job discrimination by the Union Pacific Railroad entered its second day Tuesday in Little Rock with the opening statement by an attorney for Union Pacific after which attorneys for Perry Hopman began presenting the case against the railroad.
Hopman, 45, of Benton, an Army veteran and a former flight medic, filed suit in federal court on Jan. 26, 2018, after officials with Union Pacific refused his requests in 2015 and 2017 that his service dog be allowed to accompany him to work at the North Little Rock rail yard where he is an engineer on overnight runs to Van Buren in Crawford County.
In a complaint, Hopman said he suffers from flashbacks, panic attacks and anxiety from service-related post traumatic stress disorder after a deployment to Iraq in 2008. He also lists debilitating migraine headaches from a traumatic brain injury suffered during a deployment to Kosovo that began in 2010.
The dog, a 125-pound Rottweiler named Atlas, is a trained service dog who, among other things, assists Hopman by sensing his moods, sensing when a migraine is coming on, reminds him to take his medicine, wakes him from nightmares and even forces him out of his house when he becomes too reclusive.
Day two of the trial began with 11 jurors after U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker ruled that Juror 10 would be released because of a family funeral. Baker noted that the funeral, scheduled for 2 p.m. in Saline County, likely would delay the trial's resumption until 4 p.m. or even later.
John Griffin, one of Hopman's attorneys, suggested that the trial break for a late lunch at 1 p.m., the time the juror would have to leave, and resume after the juror returned.
"Our concern is, yes, we have a full complement of jurors today," Griffin said, but added that unanticipated complications as the week goes on could result in the jury being depleted below the minimum six jurors needed to complete the trial.
"We should be cautious about letting jurors go before the first witness has testified," Griffin said.
But Linda Schoonmaker, a Houston attorney representing Union Pacific, suggested that telling the juror to rush back from a family funeral would be inappropriate.
"Frequently there are family gatherings at such times," she said. "And we have concerns about focus after a family tragedy. ... Since we've agreed we can go as low as six jurors I see no harm in releasing him."
Baker agreed.
"We have five additional folks we can lose before we have to scuttle this trial," she said. "We made a commitment to complete this trial in a week and it would be a half day we would lose in respect to this and I'm not willing to do that."
In his opening, Torriano Garland, an attorney from the railroad's Omaha, Neb., home office, outlined the company's position regarding its treatment of military veterans.
"Even Mr. Hopman will tell you UP treats veterans very well," Garland said.
He told jurors that, according to Forbes, Union Pacific has been identified as one of the top 10 corporations in America for treatment of military veterans, saying it is No. 2 in the transportation industry and No. 7 overall.
"One in five workers at Union Pacific are veterans," he said. "In a given month, 80 employees deploy to active military service who work for Union Pacific. Union Pacific has a liaison who assists veterans through the employment process."
Garland told jurors that Union Pacific employees who deploy with the military continue to receive their company health insurance and retirement benefits paid by the company and continue to acquire credits toward their retirement from the railroad.
"When a veteran deploys," he said, "typically their pay is reduced because military pay is typically less. Union Pacific pays the difference."
Garland said that when Hopman first applied to work for the railroad in 2008, he did not disclose his disability and that when he returned from a 2010 deployment to Kosovo five years later, he still did not disclose his condition. He said Hopman was evaluated and determined to be fit for duty in 2015 and worked for a year with no incidents or safety violations.
He said that in 2016, Hopman made his first request to have a service animal at work.
"Union Pacific evaluated the request and decided a dog could not be safely introduced into a railroad environment in the cab of a locomotive," Garland said. He said too many unknowns existed to allow the practice, including the fact that some people are afraid of dogs and some are allergic.
"Let's just say Atlas is having a bad day and he bites someone or knocks them down," he said. "Well, Union Pacific is responsible for that."
Despite being turned down, Garland said, Hopman accumulated an exemplary service record at the railroad with no missed days and no claims for lost wages. He said Hopman is well-liked by his co-workers, received positive reviews from his superiors and is well-regarded in his community.
Griffin, in taped depositions from 2019 with Jay Everette, the former director of transportation services at the Union Pacific North Little Rock yard and Rod Doerr, then vice president of safety, asked both men about what specific rules established by railroad company prohibited service animals from trains.
Both men conceded that no Union Pacific rules specifically prohibited service dogs.
But later, during live testimony, Doerr said that federal regulations dealing with workplace safety on locomotives make clear that a service dog inside a locomotive would create a hazard because the the cab is so confined.
Questioned by Griffin about the railroad's security dog program that has been active since 1990, Doerr said the dogs paired with railroad security agents, about 20 companywide, do not interact with other employees and are not allowed on locomotives in live service.
Under cross-examination by Garland, Doerr marked out the dimensions of a railroad locomotive crew cabin on the courthouse floor while jurors stood at the front of the jury boxed and watched.
"By virtue of having a dog laying or standing you are creating a hazard," Doerr said. "When things go bad on the railroad they go bad fast."
Testimony is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. today as Hopman's attorneys continue to present their case.