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 -----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

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BNA Customer Relations at 1-800-372-1033, Mon. - Fri. 8:30
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__________

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_


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TODAY'S EVENTS
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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_

   __________
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