Cite as: 521 U. S. 424 (1997)
Opinion of Ginsburg, J.
trating: the respirator fit poorly and slid down his face as he perspired in the intense heat of the steam tunnels; the plastic bags used to isolate the asbestos melted on the hot pipes, spilling out the material instead of containing it.
Buckley and as many as 140 other asbestos-exposed workers sought legal counsel after their complaints to Metro-North management went unresolved. In the FELA action now before us, Buckley is serving as test plaintiff for the claims of all the exposed employees. Metro-North stipulated in the District Court that it had "negligently exposed the plaintiff Michael Buckley to asbestos while he was working in Grand Central Terminal from June 1985 to the beginning of September 1987." App. 594 (Admitted and Stipulated Facts). "[N]o later than 1986," Metro-North also conceded, "[it] obtained actual notice of the presence of asbestos in Grand Central Terminal and notice of the hazard that working with or around asbestos posed to the health and welfare of its employees." Ibid. Metro-North further acknowledged that "it exposed the plaintiff to asbestos without warning him that he was being exposed to asbestos and without training him how to safely handle and remove asbestos." Ibid. Prior to Metro-North's stipulation conceding negligence, the New York Attorney General's Office and the Office of the Inspector General of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority conducted a joint investigation, leading to these conclusions: Metro-North had "seriously disregarded the health and safety of its workers"; and the railroad's failings were "particularly egregious" because Metro-North was on notice of the asbestos problem as a result of complaints by its workers, a report by its own consultant, and inspections by the New York State Department of Labor. Id., at 614.
II
Buckley asserted two claims for relief in his FELA-based complaint: first, he charged Metro-North with negligent infliction of emotional distress; second, he sought compensation
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