User iD:  enrondlr
PW:          bnaweb22

----- Forwarded by Sylvia Hu/Corp/Enron on 11/27/2000 08:29 AM -----

	"BNA Highlights" <bhighlig@bna.com>
	11/26/2000 11:11 PM
		 
		 To: "BNA Highlights" <bhighlig@bna.com>
		 cc: 
		 Subject: Nov. 27 -- BNA, Inc. Daily Labor Report


______________________________

DAILY LABOR REPORT
Highlights & Table of Contents
November 27, 2000
______________________________

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
__________


D.C. CIRCUIT RULES AIRLINE ILLEGALLY OUSTED ALPA WORKERS
FROM PROFIT-SHARING

Cargo airline Atlas Air Inc. violated the Railway Labor Act
by excluding pilots and flight engineers from participation
in a profit-sharing plan "for the sole reason" that they
voted for union representation, the District of Columbia
Circuit rules ("Atlas Air Inc. v. Air Line Pilots Ass'n,
"D.C. Cir., No. 99-7223, 11/21/00). Reversing a district
court's grant of summary judgment to Atlas Air, the appeals
court acknowledges that employers covered by the act may
change working conditions when no bargaining contract exists
between the parties.

However, Judge Sentelle decides "where the challenged
modification to the status quo is far from merely formal,
and is in fact the equivalent of a substantial decrease in
compensation having a real and material impact on the
conditions of employment, and is justified on no other
grounds than union certification, we may presume that the
carrier's actions were motivated by anti-union animus and
are in violation of RLA Section 2, Third and Fourth."

Atlas Air sued for a declaratory judgment that its exclusion
of some 550 newly unionized pilots and flight engineers from
the profit-sharing plan was legal and that it could make
more changes in employment conditions before collective
bargaining began. The Air Line Pilots Association
counterclaimed, alleging the airline interfered with
workers' right to organize. . . . Page AA-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8k2j4_


PROBE OF HARASSMENT CHARGE AGAINST UNION ADVOCATES BARRED BY
NLRB

A North Carolina diesel engine firm violated the rights of
two employees by investigating and then documenting a
harassment complaint waged against them for distributing a
union organizing newsletter, the National Labor Relations
Board rules in a 2-1 decision ("Consolidated Diesel Co.,"332
N.L.R.B. No. 94, 10/31/00 [released Nov. 7]).

Although neither of the two employees was disciplined, the
board says that the process still had the potential of
interfering with their rights to engage in protected
activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations
Act.

"Clearly [Consolidated Diesel Co.'s] requiring employees who
engage in protected concerted activity to submit to a
process with the potential for interrogation about protected
activity, discipline, discharge, and permanent
documentation, simply because some person at one time
claimed to be harassed by that activity, has a reasonable
tendency to restrain the exercise of Section 7 rights,"
Chairman Truesdale and Member Fox write. Dissenting Member
Hurtgen finds no violation and "nothing coercive" in the
actions. . . . Page A-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r6y9d0_


VIGILANCE REQUIRED TO CLASSIFY COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS' WORK
UNDER FLSA

With computer professionals becoming more integral to the
work of high-tech, and even not-so-high-tech, companies, it
has become more important for employers to understand and
apply correctly the Section 13 (a) exemption under the Fair
Labor Standards Act overtime law for computer professionals,
according to attorneys interviewed by BNA.

Employers seeking to apply the overtime exemption must be
certain that the work performed by the "computer
professional" at issue falls within the parameters of the
statute. In addition to considering the statute, employers
determining whether employees are overtime-exempt must "walk
through" the implementing regulations issued by the
Department of Labor in 1992 and "make sure" that their
computer workers fall within the guidelines, according to
management attorneys. . . . Page C-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r5h2n1_


FLSA APPLIES TO HOME FOR MENTALLY RETARDED

A nonprofit organization that provides community living
residences for mentally retarded adults must comply with the
Fair Labor Standards Act when it calculates overtime payment
rates for its employees, the Third Circuit affirms ("Madison
v. Resources for Human Dev., "3d Cir., No. 99-1821,
11/15/00). Staff members of Resources for Human Development
Inc. cannot be considered FLSA-exempt "domestic service
employees" because RHD residences are not private homes, the
court decides. Clients do not have full control over access
to their residences and do not have "unfettered freedom in
their day-to-day conduct."

However, the appeals court remands the case to a lower court
to decided whether cash payments from RHD's cafeteria
benefits plan should be taken into account when calculating
employees' overtime payments. The district court improperly
relied on an informal interpretive guidance when it granted
summary judgment to the plaintiffs, the court finds. . . .
Page A-7

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8g1c6_


 NUMBER OF EMPLOYER-PAID HOLIDAYS ABOUT THE SAME AS LAST
YEAR'S

Employees can look forward to about as much paid time off
this Christmas and New Year's season as last, according to
BNA's latest annual survey of year-end holiday plans.

Almost half of the responding employers (49 percent) will
grant three or more paid days off for the holiday season
this year, little changed from 50 percent in 1999-2000, when
the national holidays fell on Saturdays, and slightly more
than the 47 percent of employers in 1995-96, when Christmas
and New Year's last landed on Mondays. Employers' holiday
scheduling continues to be slightly more conservative than a
decade ago, when, in 1989-90, a year when the national
holidays also fell on Monday, six out of 10 firms gave
workers at least three paid days. . . . Page B-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r5t4n8_


STUDY SHOWS 15 PERCENT OF JOB SEEKERS USE INTERNET

A new study of Internet use by job seekers shows that in
1998 about 15 percent of all unemployed people actively
looking for new jobs turned to various World Wide Web sites
in conducting their search.

About 7 percent of employed persons had used the Internet to
look for a new job in 1998, a higher proportion than shown
in earlier studies of traditional job-search methods,
according to economists Peter Kuhn and Mikal Skuterud in an
article published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The
economists find little impact so far of increasing use of
the Internet on public employment agencies.. . . Page A-3 ,
Text-E-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r7z1r9_

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8j6g7_


________________

ALSO IN THE NEWS
________________

SEXUAL ORIENTATION:  An employee who was born a genetic male
and reassigned as a female established a prima facie case of
sexual orientation discrimination under the Minnesota Human
Rights Act by showing that her employer denied her the use
of the women's restroom, a state appeals court rules. . . .
Page A-3

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8f5g9_

INTERNATIONAL LABOR: Legislation to overhaul Ontario's
employment standards would extend parental leave benefits to
50 weeks and provide greater flexibility in scheduling
working hours and vacation time.. . . Page A-2

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8d3y1_

PENSIONS: DOL is reserving for further consideration the
question of extending its recently adopted claims procedure
reforms for group health plans to pension plans and welfare
plans. . . . Page A-2

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r7e2w1_

PUBLIC EMPLOYEES: Some 9,300 Oregon state managerial and
professional employees received claims forms the week before
Thanksgiving because of a successful class action lawsuit on
overtime pay. . . . Page A-6

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r7u4h1_


____

TEXT
____

EMPLOYMENT: Article on job search methods reprinted from
October 2000 issue of BLS's" Monthly Labor Review". . . .
Page E-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8j6g7_


_________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS
_________________

LEADING THE NEWS

RAILWAY LABOR ACT
   D.C. Circuit rules cargo airline Atlas Air Inc. violated
   Railway Labor Act by excluding pilots and flight
   engineers from participation in profit-sharing plan
   because they voted for union representation . . . Page
   AA-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8k2j4_


____

NEWS
____

DISABILITIES
   California appellate court rules county sheriff's
   department is not liable for refusing to hire deputy
   sheriff applicant disqualified by color-blindness . . .
   Page A-5
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r5r9h8_

EMPLOYMENT
   New study shows that in 1998 about 15 percent of all
   unemployed people actively looking for new jobs turned to
   various World Wide Web sites as part of their search . .
   . Page A-3,  Text E-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r7z1r9_

   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8j6g7_

FLSA
   Third Circuit rules nonprofit organization providing
   community living residences for mentally retarded adults
   must comply with FLSA in calculating overtime payment
   rates . . . Page A-7
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8g1c6_

INTERNATIONAL LABOR
   Legislation to overhaul Ontario's employment standards
   would extend parental leave benefits for province's
   workers to 50 weeks, provide workers and employers with
   greater flexibility in scheduling working hours and
   vacation time . . . Page A-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8d3y1_

LABOR LAW
   NLRB rules North Carolina diesel engine firm violated
   rights of two employees by investigating and then
   documenting harassment complaint waged against them for
   distributing union organizing newsletter . . . Page A-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r6y9d0_

PENSIONS
   Labor Department reserves for further consideration the
   question of extending recently adopted claims procedure
   reforms for group health plans to pension plans and
   welfare plans . . . Page A-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r7e2w1_

PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
   Some 9,300 Oregon state managerial and professional
   employees receive forms to file claims for overtime pay .
   . . Page A-6
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r7u4h1_

SAFETY & HEALTH
   Appeals court in Louisiana rules widow of oil rig worker
   killed on the job failed to establish company was aware
   of dangerous condition and intentionally failed to remedy
   it . . . Page A-6
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r7n3v7_

   OSHA reports number of construction deaths in Florida
   rose to 59 in fiscal year ended Sept. 30, compared with
   54 construction fatalities in FY 1999 . . . Page A-4
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8b4z4_

SEXUAL ORIENTATION
   Minnesota appeals court rules employer's refusal to allow
   use of women's restroom by employee born a genetic male
   and reassigned as a female is prima facie evidence of
   sexual orientation discrimination under state Human
   Rights Act . . . Page A-3
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8f5g9_

TRADE SECRETS
   Intel Corp. and Broadcom Corp. announce settlement of all
   claims and counterclaims in litigation between high-speed
   networking competitors . . . Page A-8
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r7e7b1_


______

TRENDS
______

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
   BNA's annual survey of year-end holiday plans finds
   employees can look forward to about as much paid time off
   this Christmas and New Year's season as last . . . Page
   B-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r5t4n8_


__________________________

ANALYSIS & PERSPECTIVE
__________________________

FLSA
   As computer professionals become more integral in the
   workplace, employers' must understand and apply correctly
   exemption under federal overtime law . . . Page C-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r5h2n1_


____

TEXT
____

EMPLOYMENT
   Reprint of article on job search methods as published in
   the October 2000 issue of BLS's "Monthly Labor Review" .
   . . Page E-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8j6g7_


______________

TABLE OF CASES
______________

Atlas Air Inc. v. Air Line Pilots Ass'n (D.C. Cir.) . . .
Page AA-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8k2j4_

Beard v. Grey Wolf Drilling Co. (La. Ct. App.) . . . Page
A-6
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r7n3v7_

Consolidated Diesel Co. (N.L.R.B.) . . . Page A-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r6y9d0_

Diffey v. Riverside County Sheriff's Dep't (Cal. Ct. App.) .
. . Page A-5
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r5r9h8_

Goins v. West Group (Minn. Ct. App.) . . . Page A-3
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8f5g9_

Intel Corp. v. Broadcom Corp. (Cal. Super. Ct.) . . . Page
A-8
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r7e7b1_

Madison v. Resources for Human Dev. (3d Cir.) . . . Page A-7
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r8g1c6_

Young v. State of Or. (Or. Cir. Ct.) . . . Page A-6
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a3r7u4h1_

   __________
   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) 2000 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.