User ID:  enrondlr
PW:        bnaweb22


 -----Original Message-----
From: 	"BNA Highlights" <bhighlig@bna.com>@ENRON [mailto:IMCEANOTES-+22BNA+20Highlights+22+20+3Cbhighlig+40bna+2Ecom+3E+40ENRON@ENRON.com] 
Sent:	Wednesday, August 01, 2001 11:09 PM
To:	BNA Highlights
Subject:	Aug. 2 -- BNA, Inc. Daily Labor Report

______________________________

DAILY LABOR REPORT
Highlights & Table of Contents
August 2, 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 MAY SOON EXPERIENCE MORE VACANCIES IF BUSH DOES NOT ACT

The five-member National Labor Relations Board, which has
been operating with one vacancy for almost a year, may soon
experience additional vacancies if President Bush does not
take action to keep current members in office and/or bring
in new members. The term of Peter J. Hurtgen (R), who joined
the board in November 1997 and was named chairman in May,
expires Aug. 27. He would then leave the board unless the
president nominates him for a second term or names him to a
recess appointment when Congress is not in session. Veteran
board official John C. Truesdale (D) had announced that he
will step down as a board member by Oct. 1, or earlier if
the Senate confirms a replacement or Bush wants to make a
recess appointment. After six months in office, Bush still
has not taken action to fill the vacant Republican seat and
replace Truesdale, which has allowed the board to continue
functioning with a majority of Democratic members.

Dennis P. Walsh (D), who was named to a recess appointment
by former President Clinton, will have to leave office when
Congress adjourns its 2001 session, which could occur as
early as October, unless Bush nominates him for a second
term and he is confirmed by the Senate. He cannot serve two
consecutive recess appointments. Member Wilma B. Liebman's
(D) term does not expire until Dec. 16, 2002. The fifth
board seat has been vacant since Aug. 27, 2000, when former
Member J. Robert Brame's (R) term expired. . . . Page AA-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7c0p2_


EMPLOYEE ARBITRATING COMMON LAW CLAIMS NOT SPARED
ARBITRATION FEES

A 1997 ruling by the D.C. Circuit exempting employees who
agree to arbitrate federal statutory claims from paying
certain arbitration fees does not extend to employees'
common law claims rooted in public policy, the D.C. Circuit
rules ("Brown v. Wheat First Securities Inc.,  "D.C. Cir.,
No. 00-7171,  7/31/01).

Judge Williams declines to extend the holding in "Cole v.
Burns International Security Services" and upholds an
arbitrator's order requiring Ronald L. Brown to pay $6,365
in arbitration costs on his claims for wrongful termination,
breach of implied contract, defamation, slander, and
tortious interference against Wheat First Securities Inc.
"In short, the proposed extension of "Cole" would
significantly alter the terms of the Federal Arbitration
Act, imposing a serious procedural limit on a wide (but
unpredictable) range of arbitration claims, all without the
slightest signal from Congress," the appeals court
concludes. . . . Page A-7

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7f0u6_


FIRING UNIONIST DAD WHO LEFT WORK EARLY WAS NOT ULP, SPLIT
NLRB SAYS

A New York automobile dealer did not violate federal labor
law by discharging a parts department employee, who was a
union member, for leaving the job early after an emergency
call from his 13-year-old son, a divided NLRB rules ("Tom
Rice Buick, Pontiac & GMC Truck Inc., "334 NLRB No. 91,
7/26/01).

Tom Rice Buick of Huntington, N.Y., "met its burden of
proving that it would have terminated [Thomas] Fell even in
the absence of his union activity, because he closed the
parts department and left work early, without notice to or
permission from management, and in spite of knowing that a
customer needed parts department services," Chairman Hurtgen
and Member Truesdale write.

Dissenting Member Liebman would have found a violation of
Section 8(a) of the National Labor Relations Act. The
discharge decision, shortly after an unlawful discussion of
Fell's union membership, amounted to "severe, "unlawfully
motivated " punishment of a man put in a tough spot, seeking
to do the right thing for his child," she observes. . . .
Page A-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7b8p6_


SENATE COMMITTEE OKS MEASURE TO RENEW, EXPAND MENTAL HEALTH
PARITY

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
approves a bill to extend and expand the 1996 law that
requires group health plans offering mental health benefits
to make those benefits available on a equal basis with
benefits for physical health care.

The committee votes 21-0 to approve the Mental Health
Equitable Treatment Act of 2001 (S. 543), sponsored by Sens.
Wellstone (D-Minn.) and Domenici (D-N.M.), which would
extend and expand the 1996 mental health parity law that is
set to expire Sept. 30. Although the committee vote was
unanimous, several members indicated they plan to bring
amendments when the measure moves to the Senate floor. The
committee also approves an amendment that would exempt
companies with 50 or fewer employees.

The bill would provide for full parity for all categories of
mental health conditions in the "Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth edition (DSM IV-TR)". The
1996 law, by contrast, defined mental health benefits as
those "defined under the terms of the plan or coverage." . .
. Page A-8

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7f1z9_


PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ORDERS CHRISTIAN COALITION NOT TO
RETALIATE

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., issues a preliminary
injunction ordering the Christian Coalition of America not
to retaliate against nine African American current and
former employees who are suing for race discrimination ("Lee
v. Christian Coalition of Am. Inc., " D.D.C.,  No. 01-0405,
7/27/01).

In what he describes as an issue of first impression, Judge
Urbina says that without the injunction, the low-paid
employees might be irreparably harmed by having to go on
welfare during the course of the litigation. "This is
precisely the type of relief that cannot be remedied at the
end of this litigation," he writes. The coalition strongly
denies the charges and has already filed an appeal in the
D.C. Circuit, according to its attorney. . . . Page A-3

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7a2c9_


______________

TODAY'S EVENTS
______________

UNEMPLOYMENT: Weekly data on initial claims for unemployment
benefits released, 8:30 a.m., Labor Department.

________________

ALSO IN THE NEWS
________________


ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: The latest survey results released by the
National Association of Purchasing Management show a
manufacturing sector still in decline during July and
sluggish growth continuing across the rest of the U.S.
economy. NAPM's purchasing managers' index fell by 1.1
percentage points to 43.6 percent in July from a reading of
44.7 percent in June. . . . Page A-2

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7c5b4_

ORGANIZING: The AFL-CIO's Executive Council hears about the
initial effort under its new political/organizing
mobilization program first announced in May. The new program
was used to mobilize union members to work against passage
of trade promotion authority, AFL-CIO officials say. Twenty
field staff and two dozen national union staff will work
nationwide on legislative issues. . . . Page B-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7a7y4_

POLITICS:A Thurston County Superior Court judge imposes a
$400,000 penalty on the Washington Education Association for
intentional violations of the state campaign financing law
over a five-year period. . . . Page A-9

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7f7z7_

TRANSPORTATION: The Senate approves the fiscal year 2002
transportation appropriations bill (H.R. 2299) after two
weeks of debate on its provisions to restrict Mexican trucks
from operating in the United States. . . . Page A-10

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7g5v2_


_________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS
_________________

LEADING THE NEWS

NLRB
   Five-member NLRB, which has been operating with one
   vacancy for almost a year, soon may experience additional
   vacancies if President Bush does not take action to keep
   current members in office and/or bring in new members . .
   . Page AA-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7c0p2_


____

NEWS
____

ARBITRATION
   D.C. Circuit rules a two-year-old ruling exempting
   employees who agree to arbitrate federal statutory claims
   from paying certain arbitration fees does not extend to
   employees' common law claims rooted in public policy . .
   . Page A-7
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7f0u6_

DISABILITIES
   City of Chicago was not required to violate a collective
   bargaining agreement to accommodate a legally blind city
   worker who wanted a job as a dispatcher, Seventh Circuit
   rules . . . Page A-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n6t5y2_

DISCRIMINATION
   Sen. Santorum (R-Pa.) says he is willing to remove from a
   Senate faith-based bill a controversial provision
   currently in the House-passed measure (H.R. 7) that would
   allow federally funded religious groups to bypass state
   and local laws regarding hiring practices . . . Page A-8
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7f5v7_

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
   Survey results by the National Association of Purchasing
   Management show a manufacturing sector still in decline
   during July, and sluggish growth continuing across the
   rest of the U.S. economy . . . Page A-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7c5b4_

EEOC
   David Frank, former staffer on the House Education and
   the Workforce Committee, is named by President Bush to be
   EEOC legal counsel . . . Page A-11
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7g0n6_

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
   Federal employees would be able to retain frequent flyer
   miles they receive while traveling on official government
   business under a bill (H.R. 2456) passed by the House . .
   . Page A-11
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7b7w2_

   Rep. Davis (R-Va.) introduces a bill to set up an
   exchange program between mid-level federal information
   technology managers at the GS-12 to GS-15 levels and
   their counterparts in the private sector . . . Page A-5
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n6c7j8_

HEALTH CARE
   Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
   approves a bill to extend and expand the 1996 law that
   requires group health plans offering mental health
   benefits to make those benefits available on a equal
   basis with benefits for physical health care . . . Page
   A-8
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7f1z9_

IMMIGRATION
   Senate confirms James W. Ziglar, a former Senate
   sergeant-at-arms, to head the INS . . . Page A-4
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7c2y7_

LABOR LAW
   New York automobile dealer did not violate federal labor
   law by discharging a parts department employee, who was a
   union member, for leaving the job early after an
   emergency call from his 13-year-old son, a divided NLRB
   rules . . . Page A-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7b8p6_

POLITICS
   Washington state judge imposes a $400,000 penalty on the
   Washington Education Association for intentional
   violations of the state campaign financing law over a
   five-year period . . . Page A-9
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7f7z7_

RACE DISCRIMINATION
   Federal judge in Washington, D.C., issues a preliminary
   injunction ordering the Christian Coalition of America
   Inc. not to retaliate against nine African American
   current and former employees who are suing the
   organization for race discrimination . . . Page A-3
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7a2c9_

SAFETY & HEALTH
   Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based grain salvage company and a
   senior executive of the company plead guilty in federal
   court to obstructing an OSHA investigation into an
   accident that resulted in the death of a firefighter . .
   . Page A-6
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7c4b6_

TAXES
   House Ways and Means Committee members Neal (D-Mass.) and
   Weller (R-Ill.), among others, plan to introduce a bill
   that would change the alternative minimum tax treatment
   of incentive stock options . . . Page A-11
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7f8n6_

TRADE
   House Majority Leader Armey (R-Texas) says he has put off
   until September or later House consideration of
   legislation that would renew the president's authority to
   negotiate trade agreements under "fast track" procedures,
   citing a lack of Democratic votes . . . Page A-6
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n6y0u7_

TRANSPORTATION
   Senate gives voice vote approval to the $60 billion
   fiscal 2002 transportation appropriations bill, after two
   weeks of debate on provisions designed to restrict
   Mexican trucks from operating in the United States . . .
   Page A-10
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7g5v2_


_______

AFL-CIO
_______

IMMIGRATION
   AFL-CIO Executive Council reaffirms a list of principles
   it considers crucial for Congress to include in
   immigration reform legislation . . . Page B-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n6r6m3_

ORGANIZING
    AFL-CIO's Executive Council hears about the initial
   effort under its new political/organizing mobilization
   program first announced in May that was used to mobilize
   union members to work against passage of trade promotion
   authority . . . Page B-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7a7y4_


______

TRENDS
______

JOB TRAINING
   Joint training center launched eight years ago by Las
   Vegas casino hotels and Culinary Workers Local 226 to
   deal with a shortage of workers has proved successful,
   and the parties now are looking for funding to expand the
   program . . . Page C-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n5v9y9_


______________

TABLE OF CASES
______________

Brown v. Wheat First Securities Inc. (D.C. Cir.) . . . Page
A-7
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7f0u6_

Lee v. Christian Coalition of Am. Inc. (D.D.C.) . . . Page
A-3
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7a2c9_

Tom Rice Buick, Pontiac & GMC Truck Inc. (N.L.R.B.) . . .
Page A-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7b8p6_

United States v. Stickle Enter. Ltd. (N.D. Ill.) . . . Page
A-6
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7c4b6_

Washington v. Washington Educ. Ass'n (Wash. Super. Ct.) . .
. Page A-9
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n7f7z7_

Winfrey v. Chicago (7th Cir.) . . . Page A-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4n6t5y2_

   __________
   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 (c) 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.