Monday, March 3, 1997
RIF trial begins today in Albuquerque
Trial of the class action lawsuit filed in response to the 1995 reduction in force at the Laboratory is set to begin today in Albuquerque with selection of the jury. The following is a timeline of events leading up to the trial.
Sept. 13, 1995 - Lab issues 256 RIF notices, due to take effect in 60 days.
Oct. 18, 1995 - Class action lawsuit filed to stop RIF and provide relief to RIFees. Lawsuit, which names the University of California and Director Sig Hecker as defendants, alleges discrimination occurred in the RIF process.
Nov. 3, 1995 - Lab files response to plaintiffs' motion for certification as a class, arguing class action requirements are not met in this case.
Nov. 6, 1995 - Federal Judge Martha Vazquez remands RIF case to state district court. Judicial District Judge Jim Hall receives case. Plaintiffs report through news media that discrimination charges are no longer part of their lawsuit.
Nov. 10, 1995 - Judge Hall holds hearing on arguments to prevent the RIF from proceeding Nov. 13.
Nov. 12, 1995 - Judge Hall issues temporary injunction preventing the RIF from taking place.
Nov. 15, 1995 - Lab petitions New Mexico Supreme Court to lift temporary injunction.
No v. 22, 1995 - Supreme Court overturns injunction, clearing the way for RIF to proceed.
Nov. 30, 1995 - Termination date for employees who received RIF notices and did not locate alternative employment at the Lab.
Mar. 2, 1996 - Hearing held in State District Court to resolve issues governing access to Lab documents. Judge Hall specifies ground rules by which Lab must provide more than 5,000 separate documents to plaintiffs.
April 1, 1996 - Plaintiffs file motion for summary judgment in RIF lawsuit, asking court to rule in their favor without going to trial.
June 10, 1996 - Judge Hall dismisses plaintiffs' request for summary judgment and rules that lawsuit of RIF will go to a jury trial.
June 17, 1996 - Citing negative publicity surrounding the RIFs, Lab requests that RIF trial be moved to Albuquerque, Roswell or Las Cruces.
July 12, 1996 - Plaintiffs file motion opposing change of trial location.
Oct. 23, 1996 - Judge Hall rules that RIF lawsuit will be tried outside the First Judicial District because of concerns over whether an impartial trial could be achieved within the district.
Oct. 25, 1996 - Lab and plaintiffs agree on Bernalillo County Courthouse as location for the RIF trial.
Feb. 28, 1997 - Judge Hall rules that Director Hecker is not a defendant in the RIF trial.
Mar. 3, 1997 - Jury selection begins in RIF trial.
Laser slappers, now under development at the Laboratory, represent the next generation of explosives detonators and are similar to electrical slapper detonators. In the laser slapper, a fiber optic transmits a laser pulse to vaporize a thin metal film. This film, or flyer as it is commonly called, is launched through a short barrel. The flyer shock loads (slaps) high-density pressed explosives, setting off a detonation. Laser slapper detonators offer a number of safety advantages over conventional detonators. Most importantly, they require very high peak laser powers to operate, making natural or accidental human-caused detonation very unlikely. Because light is transported over fiber optics, laser slappers avoid many of the electrical hazards associated with existing detonators. Finally, use of insensitive, secondary explosives makes these detonators safer to handle, manufacture, transport and deploy. For more information, call Thomas Turner of Detonation Science and Technology (DX-1) at 7-7916. |
Former HR director speaks at diversity workshop
To put in perspective, how organizations such as the Laboratory
are struggling with diversity, former Human Resources (HR) Division director
John Foley uses the analogy of the atomic bomb.
"It took us 27 months to build the bomb," Foley said at a diversity workshop Wednesday in the Study Center. "It took us 10 years to get to the moon. It has taken us 30 years to get to where we are with regard to diversity issues."
Foley, who does ethics training and consulting, said in the 30 years since the Lab established its affirmative action and equal employment opportunity office, progress has been slow.
And while some progress has been made -- Foley said the Lab's attitude at one time ranged from "If you don't like it here why don't you leave" to "if you don't like it speak up" -- more can be done to improve workforce diversity.
Foley also said change will continue to be only gradual until people accept other perspectives and understand "there are fundamentally different ways to look at the world. We have to value those other points of view."
Foley's two workshops on diversity were sponsored by the African American Diversity Working Group at the Lab in recognition of national Black History Month.
The workshops, "Diverse Views of Diversity: Awakening a Common Perspective," borrow heavily from Foley's experience as a nuclear engineer-turned human resources director who saw firsthand the difficulty of improving workforce diversity at the Lab, he said.
Foley, who was HR director from 1986 through 1993, said that by 1989 he was so frustrated with the issue, "I was ready to give up." Minorities and women employees at the Lab, according to Foley, said the Lab wasn't doing enough to improve workforce diversity. Anglo male scientists, Foley added, said the Lab was a scientific institution that shouldn't be worried about diversity in the workforce.
He called the tug between the groups' viewpoints "Foley's Law."
To illustrate different perspectives, Foley recalled the responses from African Americans and Anglos after the O.J. Simpson criminal and civil trials, and television news reports of male cadets cheering wildly when female cadet Shannon Faulkner withdrew from the Citadel.
Foley also said organizations need to move from supporting and promoting ethnic diversity for legal reasons to doing it "because it is right." Many organizations today, he said, support workforce diversity for business reasons.
Foley also talked about his five-stage model of personal growth in understanding diversity from a Anglo male perspective. Foley said many people are in stage one, or the denial phase, saying there is no need to improve workforce diversity or "choose to remain unaware."
Others move to stage two, or the blame phase, in which hiring managers feel they don't discriminate and blame others such as women and minorities for problems in the workforce. They also claim that to assist women and minorities in the workforce is "reverse discrimination."
The other stages eventually lead to the final stage of "personal commitment" in which a manager resists attempts to "return to the fold" and refuses to lead or manage from a position of dominance and oppression.
"There is a tendency to say 'you can't change people's attitudes,' " said Foley. "I think that's nonsense."
In addition to Wednesday's workshops, the African American Diversity Working Group and the Women's Diversity Working Group are sponsoring a managers workshop with Foley on the morning of March 26, and a half-day open forum that afternoon in the Study Center to discuss diversity issues, said Ron Christian of Operations and Maintenance Services (FSS-9), chairperson of the African American Diversity Working Group.
--Steve Sandoval
New implementation requirement document issued
The new document, "Issuing
and Managing Laboratory Implementation Requirements and Guidance,"
(PDF file) provides detailed requirements that the Lab must meet in in order
to issue requirements, guidances, urgent memos, alerts and notices in the
area of operations. The document also establishes an electronic publication
and notification process, as well as other requirements. In addition, points
of contact and offices of institutional coordination have been established
to improve Lab document communication and coordination. Effective March
31, control document stations at the Lab will be eliminated; that's when
all "official" operations documents will be available online.
Additional information about the new document can be found in the online
master management memo. (PDF file)
Other Laboratory news sources
Reflections
| Press and Science
Releases | Dateline:
Los Alamos
LANL | Phone Book | Search | Help
L O S A L A M O S
N A T I O N A L L A B O R A T O R Y
Operated by the University of California for the US Department of Energy
Newsbulletin Comments - Copyright © UC 1996 - Disclaimer - 3 March 1997
Slap me and I'll explode