{"data":{"id":"us/49-u.s.c.-20138","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"49 U.S.C. § 20138","heading":"Tampering with safety and operational monitoring devices","body":"(a) General.—The Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe regulations and issue orders to prohibit the willful tampering with, or disabling of, any specified railroad safety or operational monitoring device. (b) Penalties.—(1) A railroad carrier operating a train on which a safety or operational monitoring device is tampered with or disabled in violation of a regulation prescribed or order issued under subsection (a) of this section is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty under section 21301 of this title. (2) An individual tampering with or disabling a safety or operational monitoring device in violation of a regulation prescribed or order issued under subsection (a) of this section, or knowingly operating or allowing to be operated a train on which such a device has been tampered with or disabled, is liable for penalties established by the Secretary. The penalties may include—(A) a civil penalty under section 21301 of this title; (B) suspension from work; and (C) suspension or loss of a license or certification issued under section 20135 of this title.","path":["Title 49—TRANSPORTATION","CHAPTER 201—GENERAL"],"source_url":"https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/103/xml_usc49@119-103.zip","current_through":"Public Law 119-103 (09/02/2026)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-10T06:01:06Z","sha256":"0d239ec8fc29034ce2df036c8781d8199c768efdb28cfd6435bb535b440f631d","source_id":"us","stale":false,"prev":"us/49-u.s.c.-20137","next":"us/49-u.s.c.-20139"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}