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PW: bnaweb22 -----Original Message----- From: "BNA Highlights" <bhighlig@bna.com<@ENRON Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2001 11:12 PM To: BNA Highlights Subject: Oct. 26 -- BNA, Inc. Daily Labor Report ______________________________ DAILY LABOR REPORT Highlights & Table of Contents October 26, 2001 ______________________________ ISSN 1522-5968 Registered Web subscribers can access the full text of these articles by using the URL link supplied. Information about becoming a subscriber or signing up for a FREE Web trial is available at http://web.bna.com or call BNA Customer Relations at 1-800-372-1033, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 am - 7:00 pm (ET). __________ HIGHLIGHTS __________ NLRB RULES 2-1 IMMIGRATION STATUS WAS 'SMOKESCREEN' TO FIRE WORKERS A California waste recycling facility used its employees' immigration status as a "smokescreen" to illegally fire 11 union supporters following an election win by the International Union of Operating Engineers, the National Labor Relations Board rules in a 2-1 decision ("Nortech Waste, "336 N.L.R.B. No. 79, 9/28/01 [released 10/24/01]). Members Truesdale and Walsh agree with an administrative law judge that Nortech Waste committed unfair labor practices by contacting the Immigration and Naturalization Service a few days after the election and telling 11 employees they could not work until they straightened out their paperwork. The company "significantly departed from its ordinary course of business," belying its contention that it was merely trying to comply with the Immigration Reform and Control Act, the board finds. Dissenting, Chairman Hurtgen maintains Nortech did not fire the 11 workers on Oct. 1, 1997. The company informed the employees that it had contacted INS, that the workers had three days to straighten out their paperwork, and that they could not work in the meantime, Hurtgen finds. "The clear implication was that, absent a satisfactory resolution with INS, they "would be" discharged," the chairman says. . . . Page AA-1, Text E-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7e4c8_ http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7e6k2_ REFUSAL TO RECOGNIZE AFFILIATION BASED ON PETITION WAS ULP, NLRB FINDS A car parts manufacturer in Tawas City, Mich., violated federal labor law when it refused to recognize its employees' union as an affiliate of the United Auto Workers after employees presented a petition signed by more than two-thirds of the bargaining unit stating that they did not want to be affiliated with the UAW, the National Labor Relations Board rules in a 2-1 decision ("Tawas Ind. Inc., "336 N.L.R.B. No. 24, 9/28/01 [released 10/22/01]). The Tawas Industries employees should have gone through union channels to disaffiliate their union, Tawas Independent Workers Association, from UAW, say Members Leibman and Walsh. A "disaffiliation is a change in the legal and institutional relationships between two unions. It cannot be carried out externally to the unions," they find, reversing a decision by an NLRB administrative law judge. Dissenting, Chairman Hurtgen argues that the company did not commit an unfair labor practice by refusing to recognize the affiliation and accuses the majority of elevating "form over substance.". . . Page A-2 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7g3e8_ COMPENSATION COSTS RISE 4.0 PERCENT FOR PRIVATE EMPLOYERS Even as wage pressures moderated, higher benefit costs helped to boost private industry employers' total compensation costs by 4.0 percent over the year ended in September, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The latest figures from the employment cost index show that private industry wages climbed 3.6 percent over the 12 months ended in September, down from 3.8 percent in the year ended in June. Benefit costs of private employers climbed 4.9 percent during the 12 months ended in September, about the same as in the 12 months ended in June, and down somewhat from the 6.0 percent jump over the year ended in September 2000. . . . Page D-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7g7e4_ MINNESOTA HIGH SCHOOL ACCOMMODATED NEEDS OF MUSLIM HALL MONITOR Although cautioning about a need for religious sensitivity in the workplace, a federal judge dismisses the claims of a Somali Muslim who contended that the Rochester, Minn., public schools failed to accommodate his religious needs in violation of federal and state civil rights laws ("Sheikh v. Independent School District 535, "D. Minn., No. 00-1896, 10/18/01). Judge Frank finds the school district responded quickly to Mustaf Sheikh's request to wear his religious head gear, use break time for prayer, and combine his breaks for Friday attendance at a local mosque. Sheikh's allegations of ostracism by his co-workers, although creating "an unpleasant working environment," did not rise to the level of actionable harassment, the court holds in dismissing the discrimination claims under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Minnesota law. . . . Page A-2 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7d3x5_ IMPAIRED LIVER FUNCTION NOT MAJOR LIFE ACTIVITY, SEVENTH CIRCUIT SAYS A technical director's liver function, which was impaired by hepatitis B, was not a "major life activity" under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Seventh Circuit rules (" Furnish v. SVI Sys. Inc., " 7th Cir., No. 99-2431, 10/22/01). The court affirms summary judgment for SVI Systems Inc. in a suit brought by Kent Furnish. "The activities that have been held to be major life activities under the ADA (e.g., eating, working, reproducing) are not the impairments' characteristics--they are activities that have been impacted because of the plaintiffs' impairments," Judge Kanne writes for the court. "Therefore, we reject the notion that 'liver function' is a major life activity under the ADA." . . . Page A-4 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w6v1a3_ ______________ TODAY'S EVENTS ______________ LAYOFFS: Bureau of Labor Statistics to release mass layoffs data for September, 10 a.m., Labor Department. ________________ ALSO IN THE NEWS ________________ UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE: New UI claims for the week ending Oct. 20 reached 504,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 496,000, according to the Employment and Training Administration. Claims likely will rise as job growth slows further, an analyst says. . . . Page D-15 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7h1r0_ HELP-WANTED ADS: For the third month in a row, demand for labor declined in September, bringing the Conference Board's Help-Wanted Index down 1 percentage point to 52 percent. The measure stood at 79 points a year ago. . . . Page A-8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w6y0v1_ HOSPITALITY: The downturn in tourism since the Sept. 11 attacks may result in 8.8 million hospitality jobs lost worldwide, with as many as 3.8 million lost in the United States, according to an International Labor Organization report. The report says travel and related services in the United States fell between 30 and 40 percent in the six weeks after the attacks. . . . Page A-3 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7e2k5_ UNEMPLOYMENT: More workers are concerned about the current unemployment rate and fewer feel now is the time to find a quality job, according to a Rutgers University survey. . . . Page A-10 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w6y0y4_ ____ TEXT ____ UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES: NLRB decision in "Nortech Waste.". . . Page E-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7e6k2_ _________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS _________________ LEADING THE NEWS UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES California waste recycling facility used its employees' immigration status as "smokescreen" to illegally fire 11 union supporters following election win by the Operating Engineers, NLRB rules 2-1 . . . Page AA-1, Text E-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7e4c8_ http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7e6k2_ ____ NEWS ____ AIRLINES House Majority Leader Armey says House is scheduled to vote Oct. 31 on aviation security bill . . . Page A-13 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7j9m2_ When Machinists return to negotiating table next week with United Airlines, union will face company vastly changed since bargaining adjourned Sept. 11 . . . Page A-12 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7j5r3_ AUTOS Three family centers in Michigan that will be available to employees and retirees of Ford Motor Co. and Visteon Corp. are dedicated as part of joint program with UAW . . . Page A-7 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7e0j2_ DISABILITIES Technical director's liver function, impaired by hepatitis B, was not "major life activity" under Americans with Disabilities Act, Seventh Circuit rules . . . Page A-4 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w6v1a3_ EMPLOYEE BENEFITS Company's sale of subsidiary's stock to another company resulted in "termination of employment" for subsidiary's employees, triggering limited period of time for employees to exercise their stock options, Texas Supreme Court rules . . . Page A-7 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7b2k8_ EMPLOYMENT Senate's version of economic stimulus bill will include provisions for expanding unemployment benefits, but probably will be vastly different from $9 billion state block grant approved by House . . . Page A-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7e8b0_ HELP-WANTED ADS Conference Board reports that demand for labor declined in September for third consecutive month . . . Page A-8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w6y0v1_ HOSPITALITY Downturn in tourism since terrorist attacks may result in 8.8 million hospitality jobs lost worldwide, including 3.8 million lost U.S. jobs, ILO reports . . . Page A-3 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7e2k5_ INTERNATIONAL LABOR Employees in United Kingdom will be able to earn time off immediately upon start of new job, under changes to British domestic law that implements 1993 European Union's Working Time Directive . . . Page A-6 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7d4a4_ MINIMUM WAGE Auto dealership's termination of sales manager for refusing to give employer television set he had won in raffle while on company business did not violate state minimum wage law, Washington Court of Appeals rules . . . Page A-5 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w6y9u7_ NATIONAL ORIGIN Hispanic employee of New Jersey courts may proceed with national origin claims based on disparate pay allegations dating back to 1996, Third Circuit rules . . . Page A-8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w5g1w0_ NMB National Mediation Board issues interim procedures to address delays in postal service deliveries in Washington, D.C., caused by anthrax threat . . . Page A-14 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7j4n5_ POSTAL EMPLOYEES Leaders of major postal unions and U.S. Postal Service agree on safety measures in connection with anthrax threat . . . Page A-9 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7g7g4_ RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION Although cautioning need for religious sensitivity in workplace, federal judge dismisses claims of Somali Muslim who contended that Minnesota public school failed to accommodate his religious needs in violation of federal and state civil rights laws . . . Page A-2 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7d3x5_ SAFETY & HEALTH CDC issues interim guidelines for selecting clothing and respirators for emergency responders to use when investigating biological agents . . . Page A-11 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7h7u0_ Five construction workers are killed and 10 injured in scaffolding collapse at commercial building in New York City . . . Page A-11 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7h8q2_ TAXES Employees will not be taxed on value of leave donated to charity before Jan. 1, 2003, IRS says in Notice 2001-64 . . . Page A-5 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w5z5z3_ UNEMPLOYMENT Survey finds more workers are concerned about current unemployment rate and fewer feel now is best time to find quality job . . . Page A-10 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w6y0y4_ UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES Car parts manufacturer in Tawas City, Mich., violated federal labor law when it refused to recognize its employees' union as UAW affiliate based on petition signed by more than two-thirds of bargaining unit stating that they did not want UAW affiliation, NLRB rules 2-1 . . . Page A-2 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7g3e8_ _____________ ECONOMIC NEWS _____________ COMPENSATION Higher benefit costs boosted private industry employers' total compensation costs by 4.0 percent over year ended in September, Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics says . . . Page D-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7g7e4_ UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE New unemployment insurance claims for week ending Oct. 20 reached 504,000, an increase of 8,000 from previous week, Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration says . . . Page D-15 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7h1r0_ ____ TEXT ____ UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES NLRB decision in "Nortech Waste" . . . Page E-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7e6k2_ _______ JOURNAL _______ MEETINGS Calendar of meetings, courses, and seminars . . . Page Z-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w5a1j8_ ______________ TABLE OF CASES ______________ Byrne v. Courtesy Ford (Wash. Ct. App.) . . . Page A-5 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w6y9u7_ Cardenas v. Massey (3d Cir.) . . . Page A-8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w5g1w0_ Furnish v. SVI Sys. Inc. (7th Cir.) . . . Page A-4 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w6v1a3_ Monsanto Co. v. Boustany (Texas) . . . Page A-7 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7b2k8_ Nortech Waste (N.L.R.B.) . . . Page AA-1, Text E-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7e4c8_ http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7e6k2_ Sheikh v. Independent School Dist. 535 (D. Minn.) . . . Page A-2 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7d3x5_ Tawas Ind. Inc. (N.L.R.B.) . . . Page A-2 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4w7g3e8_ __________ Daily Labor Report (ISSN 1522-5968) Highlights are published daily by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 1231 25th St., NW, Washington, DC 20037. For account information and changes, contact 1-800-372-1033 (M-F, 8:30 am-7:00 pm ET) To request retransmission or to order a copy of the summarized article, contact 1-800-452-7773 or e-mail bnaplus@bna.com. For copyright guidelines, go to http://www.bna.com/corp/copyright. Copyright © 2001 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. Washington, D.C. 20037. Use of this service is subject to the terms and conditions of the license agreement with BNA. Unauthorized access or distribution is prohibited.
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