EEOC Political Correctness

EEO Political Correctness Pitfalls in the Construction Industry

Until my union roofing company that had been in business since 1946, closed early in 2010 due to the disastrous economy, I spent  fifteen years stationed at the front desk; directing the incoming calls, babysitting the fax machine, serving as secretary to 3-4 estimators, scheduling the repair department and doing the data entry that kept the wheels turning.

I was the first point of contact for everyone who walked in the door.  It was not a high-traffic situation and I sailed through most days with nobody except the mailperson stopping by.  (I say mailperson because for the first 10 years it was a Japanese-American man originally from Honolulu and the last 5 years it was an apparently white woman who mentioned family in Utah).  That may sound like nitpicking; but, that’s because you haven’t been keeping abreast of the DOL/EEOC requirements, like I did after our company had been audited by the DOL in the late 1990s.

After the DOL auditor (who appeared to be African-American) spent several days going through our employee records and confidentially interviewing our field employees, I was presented with a new directive.  When jobseekers walked in, I was required to enter the date, their name and ethnicity in a log along with what directions I gave them as jobseekers.  We were a union shop so what I always told them was easy….  Go to the union.  We NEVER hired anyone who wasn’t dispatched by the union.  I even photocopied stacks of Google maps, with the route highlighted to help them find their way!

The pitfalls?  It is politically incorrect to guess that a Mexican-looking person who speaks broken English with a strong Spanish accent is actually Hispanic.  He MUST self-identify according to EEO requirements.  I felt like a fool asking a shingling crew of Spanish-speaking guys with phony-looking IDs if they were from Mexico.    One actually asked if I really believed the ID was legit!

According to the DOL, I can’t question the authenticity of ID because that’s discriminatory.   The Social Security number verification system known as E-Verify is the politically-correct way to determine employment eligibilty.  It is supposed to be used for ALL new hires so as not to discriminate against suspected illegals.  It always seemed grossly unfair to me that the union could sign up anyone who walked in the door; but, if we hired someone the union dispatched to us who turned out to be an illegal alien, we were responsible!

The EEO question was not settled merely through the hiring process.   Some government contracts required monthly filings of all the crew; hours worked,  job title, sex, ethnicity.  Imagine our joy when we promoted a female Korean-American  and a male Native American/Asian American to foreman positions!  As individuals, they were not happy.  They were capable and satisfied with their accustomed jobs and did not seek promotion.  The fact that their expertise was in other types of roof installations was moot.  The contract required that we file monthly EEO reports to comply with government requirements; how many women, how many Asians, Pacific Islanders, Hispanics,  etc.?

Public Housing Authorities wanted us to provide names and home phone numbers of all the workers on those projects, supposedly to see if they were really being paid union wages.  Many workers DID NOT want the government contacting them at home.  Too bad!   One DHS-related project required we provide the Full Name and personal cell phone numbers of everyone on the crew!  The guys were not happy about that either.

It’s a dirty system when ethnicity counts more than the abilities and desires of individuals and the government demands personal information for specious reasons.     Oh well, it’s all over now.

~LTG

Woman fired for wearing fake penis

This takes the prize as the Weirdest News of the Day.

A female worker at a Pennsylvania snack food factory is suing the company for firing her because she wore a fake penis to work while she considered a sex change.

The UK’s Daily Mail reports, Jan. 13, 2012, that Pauline Davis, 45, claims she was fired from J&J Snack Foods Corporation because she wore the prosthetic attachment to the factory in Moosic, Lackawanna County where she worked as a line inspector.

Ms. Davis first filed a complaint in March 2010 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office in Philadelphia, claiming gender and gender-identity discrimination, reports the Philadelphia Daily News.

According to the lawsuit, Davis had confided in her co-workers about the fake penis. The co-workers, in turn, allegedly passed the information onto management who promptly fired her.  Her attorney, Lalena Turchi, insisted the fake penis was concealed and “in no way interfered with her ability to do her job”. The suit also claims a male employee undergoing hormone treatments and female clothing was treated more favorably.

Davis is seeking back pay, damages for suffering and humiliation, and punitive damages.

The New Jersey-based J&J company — which manufactures soft pretzels, slushies, frozen pops, cookies, churros, and pretzel dogs — did not immediately return a request for a comment.

J&J Snack Food pretzel dogs

The website Reelmagik.com (note it’s the occultic “magik” instead of “magic”) is selling a 6.2″ long prosthetic penis (weight: 11 oz.; 6″ girth at widest point!). Here’s the blurb:

“This prosthetic penis was created to visually enhance the sexual organ of transgender post-op patients.  We were approached by a client who had recently had the 1st stage female-to-male surgery, and was dissatisfied with the results.  Instead of opting for a 2nd surgery, in which skin taken from other sections of the body would be used to build up the sexual organ, they wanted a prosthetic that would give the appearance of typical male genitalia.  We came up with a solution that would enable the client to wear the prosthetic without the need for cumbersome straps or belts, as well as the option to be flaccid or aroused.   We inserted a plastic flexible rod into the center of the prosthetic, that allowed it to be bent in almost any position.  The prosthetic would be glued to the skin, instead of being “strapped on”, allowing for a sense of realism.  The choice of material would also enhance the realism of the prosthetic.  The properties of a unique silicone allowed for a “gel-filled” prosthetic.  The prosthetic has a very soft, yet durable outer skin, with a gel-like fleshy interior, that feels very much like an actual penis.  To achieve this, the silicone is not simply poured into the mold and filled.  Silicone is painstakingly hand poured into the mold one layer at a time (each layer allowed to set up before the next is poured), building up multiple layers, each layer having a different durometer (hardness/softness) until the desired flesh-like consistency is achieved. This allows the outer skin layer to be “pulled up”, similar to foreskin on an actual penis.  The new 3D scrotum also benefits from this material, allowing for firm testes floating in a near-liquid gel.  An extremely detailed paint job, as well as the addition of hand-punched synthetic hairs add to the extreme realism of this product.  This product is also available without the flex rod.  For additional information regarding the use of this product, as well as warranty & shipping info, please see our FAQ PAGE“

Reelmagik offers a “basic” and an “advanced” model. The Basic Prosthetic Kit contains:

1. High quality gel-filled 6” silicone prosthetic (optional embedded plastic flex rod)
2. Standard paint job (see basic prosthetic photos below)
3. 2oz bottle of Cleansing spray
4. Application and Care Pamphlet

Alas, the kit does not include adhesive, which will cost you extra.

A week ago, singer Cher’s female-to-male transgender offspring, Chas (née Chastity) Bono announced that s/he is saving pennies ($40,000) to pay for a metoidioplasty procedure. As explained by Bono:

“It’s a procedure that uses what you already have down there, which has grown larger from the testosterone. You end up with a smaller phallus than with the phalloplasty, but it’s fully functional, it gets erect, and the sensation is all there.”

Bono says s/he expects the eventual willy to be about 3 inches long.

Maybe Bono should go the less expensive, less painful, and longer prosthetic route that former snack food worker Pauline Davis took. JMHHO: Just my humble helpful opinion!

~Eowyn

Factory Worker Fired for Refusing to Wear “666″ Sticker

A factory worker in Georgia was fired because he refused to wear a “666″ sticker that his employer mandated all employees to wear.

The Associated Press reports, November 18, 2011, that Billy E. Hyatt claims in a federal lawsuit that he was fired from Pliant Corp. (now renamed Berry Plastics Corp.), a plastics factory in northern Georgia near Dalton where he’s worked since June 2007, after he refused to wear a sticker proclaiming that his factory had been accident-free for 666 days.

Like the factory’s other employees, Hyatt had worn the sticker proclaiming how many days the factory had gone without an accident. But, being a devout Christian, he increasingly grew nervous in early 2009 as the number of accident-free days crept into the 600s.

As the company’s safety calendar approached day 666, a number that is considered the “mark of the beast” in the Bible’s Book of Revelation describing the end days, Hyatt said he approached a manager and explained that wearing the “666″ sticker would force him “to accept the mark of the beast and to be condemned to hell.” He said the manager assured him he wouldn’t have to wear the number.

But when the “666″ day came on March 12, 2009, Hyatt sought a manager to discuss his request, only to be told that his beliefs were “ridiculous” and that he should wear the sticker or serve a three-day suspension.

Hyatt took the three-day suspension, but was fired at a human resources meeting several days later. He filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and his attorney Stephen Mixon said the agency granted him the right to sue the company in August.

The lawsuit, which seeks punitive damages and back pay, said the company forced him into a terrible situation: Keep his job or “abandon his religious beliefs.”

The company, now known as Berry Plastics Corp., did not return several calls and emails seeking comment. It has yet to respond to the complaint in court.

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Berry Plastics Corp. is headquartered in Evansville, Illinois. Less than a month ago, former U.S. senator and governor of Indiana B. Evan Bayh was appointed to the corporation’ Board of Directors.

Ironically, Berry Plastics’ home page proclaims that “Employees are our most valuable asset.”

Click here for its online contact form!

~Eowyn