To: Campus Employees
From: Phillip Doolittle
Date: October 31, 2003
Subject: Assistance for Employees and Affiliate Employees Affected by Local Fires

Caring for our community extends to helping our employees in times of difficulty. To assist full-time employees affected by the local fires, the following services will be provided to our benefits eligible, full time employees.

• The University will provide a lodging reimbursement up to $100.00 per day for as long as seven days for any employee who has been evacuated from their home and has had to stay in a hotel/motel. Receipts will be required for reimbursement.
  
• The University will provide up to $35.00 per day for a food and clothing stipend for as long as seven days to any employee who has been evacuated, regardless of where the employee is temporarily housed. Receipts required for reimbursement. Cash advances may be available if needed.
  
• For any employee who has lost their primary residence to fire, the University will extend the above benefits for a total of 30 days.
  
• If needed and requested, employees may also receive a $500.00 no interest loan from the University. The loan funds will be paid back after 90 days through payroll deduction. A five-month pay back period will apply, unless employment is ended.
  
• Although most employees who have been evacuated have been staying with family or friends in the area, the University does have a few apartments in the Central Avenue Apartment complex that are available to provide temporary housing. To request temporary housing, an employee should contact Human Resources or the Vice President or Dean for their area. There will be no charge for this temporary housing.
  
• The University has an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) administered by Managed Health Network available to assist any employees with crisis, stress, legal or other needs. Please contact the EAP program directly at 800-227-3310 or on the world wide web at www.MHN.com.

The program outlined above will be administered through the Human Resources Office. The number for Human Resources is Ext. 4040 or 909-335-4040.

This program also applies to full-time employees of our affiliate organizations. They are service providers with permanent operations on the Redlands campus, including Barnes & Noble Bookstores, Bon Appetit Management Company, ABM and Xerox.

If you have any questions about this program to assist University employees affected by the fires, please direct them to Human Resources.

To: Campus Community
From: Char Burgess, Vice President and Dean of Student Life and Phil Doolittle, Senior Vice President, Administration and Finance
Date: October 31, 2003
Subject: Fire Update Oct. 31, 2003, 4 p.m.

NEW INFORMATION: The University of Redlands main campus remains in no danger of fire damage as a result of the Southern California wildfires.

As a residential campus, we, like other residential institutions in Southern California, are remaining open and conducting classes, including at our regional centers.

NEW INFORMATION: As of 4 p.m., Oct. 31, the air quality in Redlands is at a level permitting outdoor activity, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. We plan to play our normal athletic schedule on Saturday, Nov. 1. However, we will continue to monitor the air quality, and any changes regarding outdoor activities, including athletic events, will be communicated as needed.

The Health Center is available to answer any questions or assist anyone with special health needs.

Employees should direct questions they have to Human Resources. Questions from faculty should be referred to Academic Affairs.

Students who have questions should contact Student Life. We do have students and some employees who have been impacted by the wildfires, and we are doing everything possible to respond to their needs.

NEW INFORMATION: Employees will receive a separate e-mail from Senior Vice President Phillip L. Doolittle detailing services the university will provide to employees who have been evacuated or have lost their homes. Questions about those services should be directed to Human Resources.

Let us reemphasize that the main campus is in no danger of fire damage. However, we have received numerous phone calls regarding our emergency response procedure. The university does have a structure in place to manage emergency situations. Our emergency task force has been activated and is monitoring the Southern California wildfires on an ongoing basis. Also, our emergency operations center stands ready to handle any situation.

NEW INFORMATION: To view a map of the fire’s progression, please go to http://www.esri.com/jicfire/fireinfo/oldfire.html. The map shows the entire area that has been burned by the fire, which is now heading north toward the High Desert.

TO: Campus Community
FROM: EEO Office
DATE: October 2003
SUBJECT: Age and Misrepresentation

Age discrimination is the fastest growing contributor to the reams of unlawful discrimination cases in the courts and at the EEOC. Researchers point to two reasons for these phenomena. First, the work force is getting progressively older. Second, downsizing activities of the 1990s and 2000s will involve the progressively older workforce identified in the first reason. Seemingly innocent observations often become the foe of the supervisor and the advocate of the plaintiff in Age Discrimination cases.

In Miller v. Eby Realty Group, Richard Miller, a 56-year-old employee, was employed by Eby Realty Group as a General Manager of an assisted living facility with an annual salary of $82,500.00 per year. The company experienced financial troubles and it was forced to reduce its workforce by 28 employees.

Just prior to the reduction in force activities, the President of Eby Realty Group approached Miller and said, “you don’t need this aggravation anymore”, and “you are getting older, do you really need all these employee and customer headaches anymore?” The President told Miller, “You have contributed nicely, maybe it is time to think about doing something else. We have some really terrific kids that can come in and contribute.”

Shortly after having these conversations, Miller was terminated because of “economics and his job was being eliminated.” Just one day after Miller was released, the company promoted a 32-year-old employee to fill Miller’s former spot at a salary of $80,000.00 per year. Miller sued for wrongful termination based on violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act which protects employees that are 40 years of age and older from age based discrimination.

The jury found for Miller and awarded him a substantial damage award, including punitive damages against Eby Realty. Juries are always fascinated to hear how a position filled by a satisfactory “older worker” and slated for elimination is somehow preserved and replaced with a younger employee, particularly when the time scheme covers only a matter of days. In this case the court noted, “Such inconsistencies are sufficient to cast doubt upon the firm’s assertion that a reduction in force was the sole reason for a termination.