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Question
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Ken,
I have a situation that I am looking for advice on. Last week I received a
letter from the New York State Division of Human Rights. The letter is a complaint, which alleges unlawful discrimination practices in violation of the New York State Human Rights Law. The complaint involves an employment advertisement posted on a web site [not The Alarm Exchange]. In the advertisement it states no criminal background and clean drivers license required.
My question is how to respond to this letter. Does article 6D play in to this, specifically 69-q-5? What is the best solution to this? I was unaware that that wording would be considered a violation.
anon
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Response
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Employment law, especially discrimination laws, can be tricky and having an employment lawyer available for guidance is a good idea for all employers. Former Administrative Law Judge Ruth Kraft is counsel to my firm and available to assist alarm company owners. She can be reached at RKraft@Kirschenbaumesq.com and 516 747 6700 x 326.
I didn't check with Ruth if a "criminal" or former criminal is now a protected class against which you may not discriminate. Would be news to me. But from the letter you received it appears so. When you excluded anyone with a "criminal background" you went well beyond the criteria used by NY's DIvision of Licensing Services looks at. In New York you would be prohibited employing an employee who needed to be documented only if that employee had a felony conviction. A crime is more than that.
I will also take a stab at the clean driving record. Someone may have a DUI conviction in their history. That may be from alcohol abuse or other drug abuse, and that is probably a disability that is a protected class against whom you cannot discriminate, unless of course you can show that the employee cannot perform the intended services without more than reasonable accommodations.
I receive a lot of job posting requests for The Alarm Exchange and try to edit out what I think may be an issue. Some cites permit you to post your ad without review or editing, so you need to be careful when drafting the ad. Best to limit your criteria to what is necessary for the job. If you're looking for a saint with an engineering degree probably you should just pray for one instead of posting an ad.
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more on CO detectors and UL from August 26, 2014 article
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Ken
I am on the NFPA 720 Carbon Monoxide committee and put forward the motion to accept UL 2075 and UL 2034 as part of the standard.
This established that CO detectors could be tied onto a listed fire alarm or security panels with remote site notification under the 2075 standard for Gas detectors connected to systems and operate under the detection thresholds established under UL 2034 for Carbon Monoxide detection. Once passed this became the standard. Going back, I worked 30 years ago with Macurco who submitted a fire alarm control panel I supplied them and their 4 wire 24 volt CO detectors to UL for Certification and listing This original UL listing had a trouble condition buzzer and relay close at 35 PPM and activated a yellow led (under the Industrial Hygienists standards worldwide) and alarm at 50 PPM for compliance to OSHA standards. This was the original CM-14 A UL listed CO system detector . Later on the residential detector manufacturers tied their detectors onto alarm systems and created false alarms all over the coun try including Chicago. Finally UL stepped in and set up a UL standard of 70 PPM over 1-2 hours as a time weighted average and no false alarms could be generated below 30 PPM as part of the standard.
As a member of the NFPA 720 committee , I believed that having the 2075/2034 standards adopted would be preferable to having residential (UL listed to 2034 only) standalone CO detectors connected to systems that would false alarm, or not work at all and not carry the proper listing. Low reliability is acceptable in the standalone applications because if it false alarms , the consumer throws it out and buys a new one for $25 at the local retailer and the fire departments are not plagued with false alarms. The 35 PPM and 50 PPM thresholds are the standard worldwide. However as a poisoning phenomenon the life safety danger to life occurs over a period of time and the time weighted averaging TWA comes into the alarm blood saturation equation. The OSHA standard is 50 PPM over 8 hours and the UL is 70PPM over 1.5-2 hours which are roughly equivalent in calculating a 10 % CO saturation of the blood with 5-10% Carboxyhemoglobin in the victi ms system.
CO poisoning affects different individuals at different levels with the unborn fetuses being the most vulnerable particularly during the stages of brain development . Members of the American Autism society believe the malfunctioning of household heating equipment with the generation of excessive CO may have trigged Autism in some children during the mothers pregnancy. I have electric heat in my house and although I am installing GAS heat will not run the gas heat when my married and possibly pregnant oldest daughter is in the house.
In my seminar with the LIFAA I outlined the use of CO stats that can be placed on the finger of a potential Carbon Monoxide poisoning victim to determine the amount of CO Carboxyhemoglobin poisoning in their system by the trained EMT/ Fire Fighter first responder.
CO is the # 1 poisoning in the US and the very stringent code requirements applied to Fire Smoke detectors and systems applied to Carbon Monoxide detectors and the thoroughly trained EMT First responders will minimize the amount of CO fatalities going forward with quick accurate detection and response by qualified personnel.
My provision accepted and placed in the NFPA 720 2009 edition of Carbon Monoxide requirements required sensitivity detection of CO detectors to insure that the detectors performed within the early warning detection requirements was reversed in the next edition as I was outvoted in committee and the current functional test require spraying an unmeasured amount into the detector for confirmation of the detectors acceptance remains in the standard. The available CO gas in a can is 2200 PPM or 44 times the detection threshold for testing required under OSHA .
This is equivalent to testing a heat detector with a blowtorch !
Responsible Gas detection companies have test gases and test kits that verify that the detectors installed actually comply with the actual specifications of the detection levels 50-70 PPM in the standard for confirmation that the detectors work as required in the same manner that sensitivity testing is performed in smoke detectors. The 35/50 PPM standards were loosened up to accommodate CO detector manufacturers of questionable performance and extensive recalls and the sensitivity testing requirements were reversed in 2010.
We are moving forward and sometimes back with Code development and Robert William’s observations are very much appreciated .
Blair T. Ames
Montgomery-Ames Associates
Manufacturers Representative
Marblehead, MA
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TO SUBMIT QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REPLY TO THIS EMAIL OR EMAIL Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com. Most comments and questions get circulated.
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Speaking Engagements
If you would like to schedule a free live video/webinar presentation for your association meeting or event contact Eileen Wagda at 516 747 6700 x 312.
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Alarm Association of Greater St. Louis. September 16, 2014. at Tech Electronics HQs office at 6437 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, MO 63139. Meeting is from 11:45 – 1:30 Video conference presentation starting at 12:15 CST. For more information or to register contact Tony Drago adrago@tyco.com www.alarmstl.org
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NYSESA - September 17, 2014 at Honor's Haven Resort, Ellenville, NY. This is the NYS Electronic Security Assoc annual meeting. Presentation on updated contracts and current legal issues will be at 10:30 AM. For more information or reservations contact Dale R. Eller, Executive Director (814) 838-0301 dalereller@itzsolutions.com
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Texas Burglar and Fire Alarm Association. October 1 - 4, 2014, annual convention at San Luis Resort Spa & Conference Center, Galveston, TX. Register here: http://tbfaa.org/tbfaa-2014-convention-trade-show-attendee-registration/
For more info contact Debi at 281-859-4569. Brad Shipp, Executive Director
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Alabama Alarm Association. AAA's Fall Meeting and Trade Show - October 21, 2014 from 3 to 5 PM at DoubleTree Hotel 808 South 20th Street Birmingham, AL 35205 for more info contact AAA Executive Director: director@alabamaalarm.org (205) 933-9000
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