Fair Employment Practices Act
Discussed at Roundtahle
An employer cannot discri
minate between applicants for
a job on the basis of age, un
less an age limit can be pro
ven to be a necessary qualifi
cation for the job.
This is one of the restric
tions on employers imposed
by the Fair Employment Prac
tices Act passed in 1949 and
amended this year by the Ore
gon state legislature, Miss
Dana Platz of the Service Un
limited Employment Agency,
Medford, told the Jackson
County Chamber of Com
merce roundtable luncheon at
the Jackson hotel Monday
afternoon.
Miss Platz spoke to the
roundtable on the bureau of
labor's interpretation, appli
cation and enforcement of the
act. These were explained to
her, she said, at a recent meet
ing with Norman O. Nilsen,
commissioner of labor for Ore
gon. Sixth Stale
Oregon was the sixth state
to pass a Civil Rights Law of
which the Fair Employment
Practices Act is a part. This
act makes it illegal for an em
ployer to refuse to hire, em
ploy, bar or discharge from
employment, any person on
the basis of race, religion, co
lor or national origin. This
law was amended, she said, in
1959 to include age as a non
discriminatory factor in em
ployment. Miss Platz said Commission
er Nilsen held a meeting in
Salem recently to explain to
employment agencies and em
ployers, some of the require
ments and interpretations of
this law, because, as Nilsen
said, there are many viola
tions and as the bureau of la
bor intends to enforce this
law, it wants to make known
just what the law permits and
prohibits in employment prac
tices. Three fields can. be ex
plored in determining qualifi
cations for a job, Miss Platz
said. They are education, ex
perience, and physical ability,
not including age.
Rights Violated
Any person who feels that
his rights have been violated
by an employer, can file a
complaint with the bureau of
labor, according to the law.
The bureau, in turn, will in
vestigate .the complaint and
warn the employer of his vio
la tion1 if the complaint is
valid.
If the employer is warned
and continues to violate the
law then legal action will be
taken against him which can
result in a $500 fine or one
year in prison, or both, Miss
1 Platz said.
She noted that the FEP Act
applies only to those employ
ers of six or more persons.
Th purpose of the law, as
stated in a bureau of labor cir
cular, is to afford all persons
equal opportunities in em
inent, regardless of race, re
ligion, color, or national ori
gin, with the qualifications of
the individual being the sole
test in the selection of em
ployees. The 1959 amendment
added age.
Recant Ruling
Although an employer has
the right to select an em
ployee on the basis of appear
ance and personality, he may
not, under the law, inquire as
to race, ask for' a picture of
the applicant, nor may he ask
the color of eyes or hair, a re
cent ruling of the bureau of
labor disclosed, Miss Platz
said.
Unless there is a legitimate
question as to whether or not
an applicant is of legal age
for a certain jqb, such as sell
ing liquor, an employer can
not ask for the age or birth
date of a potential employee,
she pointed out. Of course,
this data can be determined
after a person is put on the
payroll, she added, but even
then he could not be dis
charged on the basis of it,
it. x
A person cannot be asked
his nationality or country of
origin for any 'purpose what
soever, she said. A person may
be asked whether or not he
is a citizen of this country,
but he may not be asked if he
is a naturalized citizen, nor
may he be asked, of what
country he is a citizen. .
There is an exception to this
rule in cases where the gov
ernment must determine if an
applicant is a potential secur
ity risk or not, she said.
Agency Is Liable
Not only is the employer li
able for-violations, she said,
but so is an employment
agency if it should assist the
employer in violating one of
the provisions of the FEP Act.
ARTHRITIS?
I have been wonderfully blessed
in being able to return to active life
after, suffering from head to foot
with muscular soreness and pain.
Most all joints seemed affected.
According to medical diagnosis. I
had Rheumatoid Arthritis. Rheu
matism and Bursitis. For free in
formation write:
MRS. LELA S. W1ER
2805 Arbor iills Drive-GG
P.O. Box 2695
Jaccson, Mississippi
An employer is not only
j prohibited from asking the re
I ligion of an applicant, but he
! is also prohibited from asking
if the person goes to church
or not, what religious organi
zations the applicant belongs
to, what religious holidays he
observes, or any other ques
tion that may directly or in
directly indicate a person's
rehrion, she said.
Any indirect question either
oral or written that might in
dicate the race, religion, na
tional origin, or age of an ap
plicant is also a violation of
the law. Miss Platz said. It is
also illegal for,an applicant to
be encouraged to volunteer
such information, she added.
Cites Example
Miss Platz cited a recent ex
ample of employers attempt
ing, to hire on the basis of
race. Three dining establish
ments recently constructed in
Portland were built with an
Oriental atmosphere. The em
ployers wanted Oriental girls
to work in these restaurants,
so they sent word to Portland
employment agencies that
they wanted to hire a total of
30 'girls of Oriental descent.
The agencies, not wanting to
risk violation of the law,
went to the bureau of labor
for a ruling on this request.
The bureau of labor said
that by requiring Oriental
girls to work in these restau
rants, the employers were in
violation of the portion of the
law that prohibited hiring on
the basis of race. Miss Platz
noted that the three employ
ers then went to San Francis
co, where they hired 30 girls
of . Oriental descent and
brought them to Portland to
work in the restaurants.
Miss Platz said there are
many other common employ
m e n t application questions
violating the law, for instance,
birthplace of an applicant, re
quirement of a birth certifi
cate, and general military ex
perience. Question of Service
" She said that a question can
be asked concerning military
experience for the U.S. armed
forces, but the question cannot
be asked in such a way to in
dicate any foreign military
experience.
If employers have any ques
tions concerning the legality
of a hiring practice, she said
they should contact Commis
sioner Nelsen of the bureau of
labor in Salem, or Thomas N.
Trotta, assistant attorney gen
eral of Oregon whose head
quarters are in Portland.
Next week's speaker at the
chamber roundtable will be
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Richards A. F. Ballou, San
Francisco, who is the western
regional representative for
Junior Achievement. He will
speak to the roundtable on the
possibilities of establishing a
Junior Achievement program
in Medford.
Governor's Budget
To Pay for Trip
Salem -dTD- Gov. Mark
Hatfield, dissatisfied with a
Board of Control decision op
posing a trip to Denver, Colo.,
for Board Assistant Secretary
J. N. Peet, dipped into the
governor's budget to pay for
the trip.
Peet is attending a Western
states conference discussing a
regional women's prison..
The governor is chairman
of the three-member board.
The dissenting members were
Secretary of State Howell
Appling Jr. and State Treasur
er Sig Unander.
Oregon does not have a
women's prison. Female in
mates have quarters in the ad
ministraiton building of the
state penitentiary here.
Silver Lake Youth
Victim ol Gunshot
Klamath Falls -dTD- Ore
gon's 1959 accidental hunting
death toll by gunshot stood at
12 today.
Jack M. Gibson, 15, Silver
Lake, was the latest shooting
victim. He was wounded fatal
ly Saturday by an accidental
shotgun blast while hunting
ducks on the Williamson river
north of here.
Oregon also has had 12
hunting deaths from heart at
tacks.
Quotes From the News
By United Press International
Miami Sen. Pat McNamara (D-Mich.), stating that he
has made no secret of the fact that his wife and nephew
are on his Senate payroll: .
"I hope the government gels as much worth from other
people on its payroll as I do from what I pay my people."
. London Elocution teacher Mrs. Ruth Botterill, describ
ing her course to teach parakeets clean and proper language:.
"I never let them hear bad language. I do swear occasion
ally, but I go out of the room to- do it."
New York Rock 'n' roll disc jockey Alan Freed, after
being asked the difference between "payola" and consultant
fees which he has admitted receiving from record firms:
"Someone will have to explain payola."
MORE SPACE CAPSULES Six additional space capsules,
such as the mock-up pictured here, have been ordered from
McDonnell Aircraft of St. Louis, Mo., by NASA. Located
on top of the 'tower are the small but powerful escape
rockets which, will enable the astronaut to escape if any
thing goes wrong during the
President's Menu
Preference Asked
New Delhi-flJPD-Authorities
at the presidential palace have
asked Washington what Pres
ident Eisenhower wants to
eat during his stay in India.
According to palace offi
cials, special chefs have been
engaged to make sure Eisen
hower gets good American
meals. But, if he wants to try
some Indian curry, that can
be arranged, they said.
-Je-
COMFORTER and PILLOWS
Sief COMFORTER PILLOWS
launching. (UPI . Telephoto)
I Oregon 4-Hers Win
National Honors
Chicago -(UPD- Six "Oregon
4-H club members have won
national honors at the 38th na
tional 4-H club congress here.
Five received $400 scholar
ships. They are Edward Bur
nap of Redmond, Margaret
Ann Burk, Vale; Karen
CruickshankM c M i n nville;
Mark Anderson of Colton and
Neil Heesacker, Forest Grove.
The other winner was Jean
Wick, La Grande, . who was
cited for her work in the for
estry program.
Burnap won in the agricul
tural program. Miss Burk was
awarded her scholarship un
der the beef program.
Other winning fields: Miss
Cruickshank, dairy foods dem
onstration; Anderson, soil and
water conservation, and Hee
sacker, tractor program.
TRAFFIC DEATHS UPPED
Tokyo -UPD- Tokyo traffic
deaths thus far this year total
1,002 as compared to 930
killed in 1958, the worst prev
ious year, the metropolitan
police board reported today.
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Hunter Drowns in
Columbia River
Vancouver, Was'h. -(UPD- A
duck hunter, identified by the
Clark county sheriffs office
here as John Rider of the
Vancouver area, drowned
Monday when he fell out of a
boat into the. Columbia river
near Ridgefield, Wash., north
west of here.
Sheriffs deputies said other
duck hunters saw Rider fall
out of the boat and vanish.
A search by Coast Guards
men failed to recover the
body.
Wall Street
Chatter
New York -(EPD- We may
well be in the midst of a creep
ing bull market, according to
Spear & Staff, which also in
dicates that the steel strike
will be settled before Jan. 26,
when the Taft-Hartley Injunc
tion expires.
In the face of bullish chart
patterns, Spear is now in
clined to a more optimistic at
titude over the near term,
than was expressed last week.
The Alexander Harrfilton
Institute expresses a more
cautious tone, however, feel
ing that the present offers
nothing more than a trading
market, which is at or near its
upper level.
Investors Advisory Institute
recommends National Distil
lers & Chemical as a buy sit
uation. Indicated year - end
earnings should fall in the
neighborhood of $2.25 a share
against $1.76 last year, the in
stitute notes. Liquor sales are
proceeding satisfactorily while
the company's chemical oper
ations are maintaining a
strong uptrend, the institute
says.
Reynolds & Co. feels that
1960 will be a good year for
railway equipment manufac
turers. Materials and supplies
of the railroads are at abnor
mally low levels, Reynolds
says, indicating that Ameri
can Steel Foundries, General
Railway . Signal, American
Brake Shoe, New York " Air
Brake, and Westinghouse Air
Brake should be all in line
for an increase in business
volume.
SEEK REFUGE
Bonn, Germany -(UPD- The
West German Refugee Minis
try announced Monday that
2,379 East Germans sought
refuge in West Germany in
the week Nov. 21 to 27.
COMPARE the
Black Yidow Spider
Bite Fatal To Man
Las Vegas, Nev.-(l?I)-A black
widow spider bit Nicholas
Burney, 54. five times on the
hand when he put on his
sweater.
Attendants at Southern. Ne
vada Memorial Hospital said
Monday Burney, a . former
Redlands, . chiropractor, died
at the hospital Sunday. He
told attendants he tried sev
eral remedies before seeking
help at the hospital.
Indictments Are
Returned by Jury
Grand jury indictments
have been returned against
four men, according to the dis
trict attorney's office.
Indicted Friday by the
grand jury was a 17-year-old
Medford youth, charged with
breaking into and entering
the Empire Beverage com
pany, 14 West Fourth st., Nov.
9. Previously charged with the
same crime is James Conley
Tolley, 18-year-old transient,
who is awaiting a pre-sentence
report. He had pleaded guilty
to the charges in circuit court
Nov. 12.
Also indicted Friday was
Carrol Gene Zachary, 24, of
819 Taylor St., Medford, on
charges of assault with a dan
gerous weapon. He is charged
with pointing a .45 caliber pis
tol at Special Deputy Lonnie
L. Varner in Jacksonville
Aug. 2.
Winifred Lee Quails, 16,
Ashland, returned from Mac
Laren school for boys, was in
dicted on rape charges. He is
charged with raping a 16-year-old
girl in July.
Also indicted was Robert
Carr Mix, 43, of 215 C st..
Phoenix, on charges of assault
with a dangerous weapon. The
charge followed a dispute
wth his wife Nov. 11.
Legion Promises
Action on Clause
Indianapolis, Ind.-flJPD - The
American Legion today prom
ised legal action against the
"white-only" clause in the
constitution of its fun-loving
affiliate, the 40 and 8.
National Commander Mar
tin B. McKneally ordered the
court test after 40 and 8 of
ficials refused to drop the
anti-Negro clause.
McKneallyte order follow
ed a mandate issued by the
Legion's convention in Min
neapolis last August.
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POSTPONE SEARCH
Gulfport, Miss. ' - iUPD - A
search for the wreckage of a
National Airlines plane
which crashed in the Gulf of
Mexico Nov. 16 killing 42
persons was halted temporar
ily Monday. Ten bodies have
been recovered so far but
Navy minesweepers' efforts
to locate the plane wreckage
have failed.
1
OPERA EXPERT DIES
Moscow - (UPD The con
ductor of the Bolshoi Thea
ter, Prof. Vasily Nebolsin, 61,
has died, the Soviet news
agency Tass announced Mon
day. Nebolsin was known in
the Soviet Union as one of
the greatest experts on opera.
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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 1959
New York Bus Strike
Averted by Pay Hike
New York -OT- A city
wide bus strike that would
have affected 1,500,000 riders
was called off Monday night
a few hours before a mid
night strike deadline.
The strike was postponed by
the Transport Workers Union
following an offer from the
seven bus companies of a
"good faith" down payment of
a seven-cent hourly pay in
creases while negotiations for
a new contract continue.
This Christmos give some
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from Lippert's.
Mondays Till 9:00
ipptrt s
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