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:	Tuesday, July 17, 2001 11:10 PM
To:	BNA Highlights
Subject:	July 18 -- BNA, Inc. Daily Labor Report

______________________________

DAILY LABOR REPORT
Highlights & Table of Contents
July 18, 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
__________


HOUSE HEARING EXAMINES BENEFITS, RISKS OF EMPLOYER
INVESTMENT ADVICE

The potential benefits and risks of legislation that would
allow employers more leeway in providing investment advice
to employees participating in self-directed retirement
savings plans are debated in a hearing before the House
Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on
Employer-Employee Relations.

The risks inherent in enacting legislation (H.R. 2269) that
would allow employers to give employees access to investment
advice are outweighed by the need for increased access and
offset by safeguards to protect employees, says John Boehner
(R-Ohio), chairman of the House Education and the Workforce
Committee and sponsor of the Retirement Security Advice Act.

Ann Combs, assistant labor secretary for pension and welfare
benefits, calls providing increased access to investment
advice a critical issue and says the Labor Department
supports the proposed amendments to ERISA. Committee
Democrats argue for expansion of safeguards to protect
employees and prevent abuses, while the AFL-CIO says the
bill would expose employees to the risk of being steered
toward high-fee investment products and could exacerbate
Section 401(k) losses. . . . Page AA-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2h6x4_


COURT REJECTS TRUCK DRIVERS' SUIT  ALLEGING WAGE SKIMMING BY
EMPLOYER

A group of Illinois truck drivers failed to show that their
employer breached its collective bargaining contract with
their union by skimming funds from their wages, the Seventh
Circuit rules, affirming a lower court's series of judgments
for the employer ("McLeod v. Arrow Marine Transport, "7th
Cir.,  No. 01-1060,  7/12/01).

The drivers could not prevail on their hybrid breach of
contract and duty of fair representation claim under Section
301 of the Labor-Management Relations Act against Arrow
Marine Transport Inc. unless they first could establish that
their union was not representing them fairly, Judge Bauer
explains. Finding that the drivers did not show that the
Chauffeurs, Teamsters and Helpers Union Local No. 301
breached its duty of fair representation by failing to
uncover the alleged wage-skimming scheme, the court affirms
the trial court's decision to grant the company summary
judgment as to claims brought by three of the plaintiffs and
to dismiss the claims of five other drivers. . . . Page A-8

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2k2v0_


NINTH CIRCUIT REVIVES 'EFFEMINATE' RESTAURANT WORKER'S
HARASSMENT CLAIM

A restaurant employee who allegedly was sexually harassed
because he was too effeminate should be able to take his
claim to trial under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act,
the Ninth Circuit rules ("Nichols v. Azteca Restaurant
Enter. Inc., "9th Cir., No. 99-35579, 7/16/01). Reversing
summary judgment granted by the  U.S. District Court for the
Western District of Washington to Azteca Restaurant
Enterprises, the appeals court rules that Antonio Sanchez's
sexual harassment claims under Title VII and the Washington
Law Against Discrimination should survive because he was
singled out for harassment by male co-workers and a
supervisor who considered him feminine and believed he did
not meet their views of a male stereotype.

 Judges Gould and Reinhardt find that while Azteca did have
a sexual harassment policy in place and exercised reasonable
care to prevent sexual harassment, its response to Sanchez's
complaints was not sufficiently prompt to avoid liability.
Dissenting on the issue of vicarious liability, Judge
Wardlaw argues that Azteca's response was appropriate, and
Sanchez's failure to report further harassment to management
made him partly responsible for the company's inaction. . .
. Page A-2

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m1x7q8_


KMART VIOLATED ERISA IN USING WRONG INTEREST RATE, SAYS
COURT

Kmart Corp. violated the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act when it computed lump-sum pension plan distributions
using the wrong interest rate, the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of Illinois rules ("Tullock v. Kmart
Corp. Employee Pension Plan, "S.D. Ill., No. 99-CV-0289-DRH,
6/29/01). Judge Herndon finds that the retailer used the
incorrect "GATT rate" in computing the lump-sum
distributions by using the January 1997 rate of 6.83 percent
rather than the 1998 rate of 5.81 percent.

Kmart alleged that the January 1997 rate was the appropriate
one because, although the lump-sum distribution checks were
dated Feb. 1, 1998, the checks were sent out on Jan. 31,
1998.  Kmart cannot "alter the fact that the checks were
dated and thus distributed on February 1, 1998 by claiming
that it has discretion to determine what the word
'distribution' means," Herndon writes. . . . Page A-6

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m1j1d3_


 WILHELM SAYS HERE NEEDS UNIFIED STANCE IN FACE OF HOTEL
CONSOLIDATIONS

As the hotel industry in North America continues to
consolidate under fewer and fewer major corporate owners,
the union that represents hotel workers must present a more
unified stance in negotiations, perhaps even coordinating
contracts so that individual locals can negotiate jointly
with the major hotel chains, John Wilhelm, president of the
Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees says.

HERE should set minimum goals for all contracts, make card
check neutrality a demand in all negotiations, and
coordinate campaigns against the major chains, the number of
which has dwindled steadily from about 18 as recently as
1995 to only eight today--with still more consolidation
likely in the next few years--Wilhelm tells union members
attending HERE's convention in Los Angeles.  To counter that
trend, HERE must "knit together" a unified union, while not
losing the vitality of its various locals, Wilhelm says in
his keynote address. . . . Page C-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2f0x8_


SMOKE-SENSITIVE EMPLOYEE  CAN PROCEED IN ADA RETALIATION
CLAIM

A smoke-sensitive employee who was discharged after she
failed to report to work in a newly smoke-free office
building can proceed with a retaliation claim under the
Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fourth Circuit holds
("Rhoads v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., "4th Cir., No.
98-2374, 7/12/01).

Reversing a district court in Baltimore, the appeals court
says Lori Rhoads, a former financial analyst at a failed
Maryland bank, had provided enough evidence that her
discharge--for excessive unexcused absenteeism--was illegal
retaliation under the ADA. The Fourth Circuit reinstates the
claim against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., in its
capacity as a receiver for Standard Federal Savings Bank and
its successor institution, Standard Federal Savings
Association.

 However, the court affirms summary judgment for the
employer on Rhoads's claim that the bank failed to
reasonably accommodate her disability under the ADA and on
her claim that the bank violated the Family and Medical
Leave Act. . . . Page A-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2f3q8_


________________

ALSO IN THE NEWS
________________

LABOR DEPARTMENT: The Labor Department is making headway in
its efforts to measure the performance of four agencies--the
Employment and Training Administration, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, the Pension and Welfare
Benefits Administration, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation--according to a review by the General Accounting
Office. . . . Page A-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2f0v7_

FOOD PROCESSING: Union-represented employees at the
Smithfield Packing Co. plant in Smithfield, Va., will
receive a combination of lump-sum payments and general wage
increases under a new five-year contract approved July 14 by
members of Local 1046 of the Laborers' International Union
of North America.  . . . Page A-4

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m0w6z1_

PRODUCTION & CAPACITY: Industrial production fell 0.7
percent in June, marking the ninth month in a row that the
industrial sector has contracted, the Federal Reserve says.
This latest decline has brought the industrial production
index down to 142.5 percent of its 1992 average. . . . Page
D-1

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2h0r8_

SAFETY & HEALTH: The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration is launching in July 2001 the next round of
wall-to-wall inspections of thousands of high-hazard
worksites under its site-specific targeting program. . . .
Page A-3

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m1j5d2_


_________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS
_________________

LEADING THE NEWS

PENSIONS
   Participants in hearing before House Education and the
   Workforce Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations
   debate potential benefits and risks of legislation that
   would allow employers more leeway in providing investment
   advice to employees participating in self-directed
   retirement savings plans . . . Page AA-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2h6x4_


____

NEWS
____

ARBITRATION
   Federal judge rejects IAM bid for injunction to prevent
   Boeing Co. from subcontracting bargaining unit work,
   saying union did not exhaust grievance/arbitration remedy
   in contract . . . Page A-7
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2a1x7_

COMPENSATION
   Seventh Circuit rules group of Illinois truck drivers
   failed to show their employer breached collective
   bargaining agreement by skimming funds from wages . . .
   Page A-8
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2k2v0_

DISABILITIES
   Fourth Circuit rules smoke-sensitive employee discharged
   after she failed to report to work in newly smoke-free
   office building can proceed with retaliation claim under
   ADA . . . Page A-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2f3q8_

DISCRIMINATION
   House sets June 18 vote for bill (H.R. 7) that will allow
   religious groups to compete for federal funds under
   programs providing job training, child care assistance,
   and drug rehabilitation services . . . Page A-10
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2m9e8_

ERGONOMICS
   Sen. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and two other Senate panel
   chairmen call on Labor Department to invite to
   just-launched forums on ergonomics several "credible,
   mainstream" health groups they say have been excluded
   from meetings . . . Page A-8
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2m0u3_

ERISA
   Federal judge in Illinois rules Kmart Corp. violated
   ERISA by computing lump-sum pension plan distributions
   using wrong interest rate . . . Page A-6
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m1j1d3_

FOOD PROCESSING
   LIUNA members at Smithfield Packing Co. plant in
   Smithfield, Va., approve five-year contract with
   combination of lump-sum payments and general wage
   increases . . . Page A-4
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m0w6z1_

HEALTH CARE EMPLOYEES
   Members of SEIU prepare to vote on tentative agreement
   between union and American Medical Response West in
   Northern California . . . Page A-5
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m1n6b3_

LABOR DEPARTMENT
   Labor Department making headway in efforts to measure
   performance of four agencies: Employment and Training
   Administration, OSHA, PWBA, and PBGC . . . Page A-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2f0v7_

PREVAILING WAGES
   State legislatures in Delaware and Rhode Island pass
   prevailing wage bills while Texas Legislature lets
   similar measure die . . . Page A-6
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m0v5q6_

SAFETY & HEALTH
   OSHA announces next round of wall-to-wall inspections of
   thousands of high-hazard work sites under its
   site-specific targeting program . . . Page A-3
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m1j5d2_

SEXUAL HARASSMENT
   Ninth Circuit reinstates Title VII claim of restaurant
   employee who alleged he was sexually harassed for being
   too effeminate . . . Page A-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m1x7q8_

TRADE
   Sen. Gramm (R-Texas) vows to block Senate consideration
   of U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement after Finance
   Committee rejects his amendment to implementing
   legislation . . . Page A-10
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2m3c1_

   Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus (D-Mont.) says
   his committee will consider trade promotion authority for
   President Bush sometime this year but not before August
   recess . . . Page A-9
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2m0n9_

UNIONS
   Federal jury convicts two Chicago labor leaders,
   including former LIUNA vice president, of steering union
   funds to banks and development project in return for
   favorably priced personal loans and cash kickbacks . . .
   Page A-7
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2g9f8_

WAGE & HOUR
   Two employees of Automobile Club of Southern California
   file suit seeking class action status for claims the
   automobile insurer engaged in unfair business practices
   and violated state and federal law by failing to pay
   overtime to as many as 500 claims adjusters in 13
   Southern California counties . . . Page A-5
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4k9v0d7_


_________________

CONVENTION REPORT
_________________

HOTEL EMPLOYEES
   As North American hotel industry continues to consolidate
   under fewer and fewer major corporate owners, HERE
   President Wilhelm says hotel workers must present more
   unified stance in negotiations, perhaps even coordinating
   contracts so individual locals can negotiate jointly with
   major hotel chains . . . Page C-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2f0x8_

   Delegates to HERE's 43rd General Convention adopt
   resolution urging locals to include in all collective
   bargaining agreements language that would allow members
   to automatically contribute through payroll deduction to
   HERE's legislative and political fund, known as Together
   in Politics (TIP) fund . . . Page C-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2k1y9_


_____________

ECONOMIC NEWS
_____________

PRODUCTION & CAPACITY
   Federal Reserve reports industrial production fell 0.7
   percent in June, marking ninth month in a row industrial
   sector has contracted . . . Page D-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2h0r8_


______________

TABLE OF CASES
______________

International Ass'n of Machinists v. The Boeing Co. (W.D.
Wash.) . . . Page A-7
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2a1x7_

McLeod v. Arrow Marine Transp. (7th Cir.) . . . Page A-8
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2k2v0_

Miskell v. Automobile Club of S. Cal. (Cal. Super. Ct.) . .
. Page A-5
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4k9v0d7_

Nichols v. Azteca Restaurant Enter. Inc. (9th Cir.) . . .
Page A-2
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m1x7q8_

Rhoads v. FDIC (4th Cir.) . . . Page A-1
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2f3q8_

Tullock v. Kmart Corp. Employee Pension Plan (S.D. Ill.) . .
. Page A-6
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m1j1d3_

United States v. Serpico (N.D. Ill.) . . . Page A-7
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/dlr.nsf/id/a0a4m2g9f8_

   __________
   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.