FW: Aug. 2 -- BNA, Inc. Daily Labor Report User ID:  enrondlr PW:        bnaweb22  -----Original Message----- From: 	"BNA Highlights"  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.    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