THEIST_WATCH
  Msg  : 51                                         Written : 07/26/94 06:31pm
  From : ROBIN MURRAY-O'HAIR                        Status  :                 
  To   : ALL                                                                  
  Subj : EEOC Guidelines Again                                                

              ANOTHER NAIL IN THE COFFIN OF EEOC GUIDELINES

    Last fall, the EEOC proposed new guidelines on racial, ethnic,
gender, religious, and other harassment. Based on existing laws and
court decisions, these guidelines would have helped employers avoid
harassment problems in the workplace.
    But, alas!, the religious right got wind of them. And one person's
religious harassment is another person's religious expression -- at
least to these folks. They were fearful that the guidelines would
encourage religion-free workplaces.
    After mock hearings, the Senate passed a resolution condemning the
guidelines in June. But that apparently wasn't enough. On Friday, July
22, the Senate adopted an amendment to a fiscal 1995 appropriations
bill which (1) orders the EEOC to drop religion from the proposed
guidelines and (2) requires  that any new guidelines on religious
harassment ensure that symbols and expressions of religious belief are
not restricted and cannot be used to prove harassment.
    The bill will now go to a House-Senate conference committee. The
House version of the same bill prohibits the EEOC from spending any
money to enforce the proposed guidelines.
    Sen. Howell Heflin (D-Ala) boasted that the rider is "a step that
ought to put the nail in the coffin of these proposed guidelines."
    For more information about the EEOC guidelines, including copies of
the guidelines, see the HOT TOPIC library.



***********************************************************************
*                                                                     *
*      American Atheists           website: http://www.atheists.org   *
*      PO Box 140195                   FTP: ftp://ftp.atheists.org    *
*      Austin, TX  78714-0195                                         *
*       Voice: (512) 458-1244              Dial-THE-ATHEIST:          *
*         FAX: (512) 467-9525               (512) 458-5731            *
*                                                                     *
*      Atheist Viewpoint TV: avtv@atheists.org                        *
* Info on American Atheists: info@atheists.org,                       *
*  & American Atheist Press    include your name and mailing address  *
* AANEWS -Free subscription: aanews-request@listserv.atheists.org     *
*                              and put "info aanews" in message body  *
*                                                                     *
*      This text may be freely downloaded, reprinted, and/other       *
*      otherwise redistributed, provided appropriate point of         *
*      origin credit is given to American Atheists.                   *
*                                                                     *
***********************************************************************