Document BEnagEmGjpv1GGd9deaLOBDL

ETHYL CORPORATION CHRYSLER BUILDING 405 LEXINGTON AVENUE NEW YORK 17.N.Y: August 9, 1946 Dr Robert A Eehoe College of Medicine Kettering laboratory of Applied Physiology Eden Avenue Cincinnati, 19 Ohio Ify dear Bob* The enclosed letter raises a broad question which has been, brought before the Administrative Committee for consideration While any action in this matter is entirely beyond the authority of the Administrative Committee, it appears probable that the Company should adopt some general policy which we might recommend to the management A study i3 being made of the ways in which other companies handle the problem but I should also like to have you give us the benefit of your opinions in the matter EJ Enclosure K&" 0015405 rs '' ?: " - :' V}r.:: : / rsMoiaa i crtm " * H, Sohaef &*.*? < ' ......... C0s MR. C. S. BOMD Hew fork - * - ' i ' a* * ', J J *. ?*f.` litc `end ly Eardi Baton Rouge July 17, 1946 10XXiXSMWfeSi #, r>, - -ti?/ ? X-.'4"* , "This letter is to give , whose you the fasts in the case of one adjusted service date is October of 19, Mr.^PBBhjvaa originally hired by du Pont Contract ion as pipefitter helper - 2nd class on October 19, 1936, and as trans ferred on May 4, 1930, to TSL, where he progressed through to pipe fitter - 1st class, reaching that classification May 4, 1941, During 1941 ha began to experience som difficulty with hypertension, and our Hedical Bepartsnt h&s_ since kept track of his condition. In the summer of 1945 he took off about five weeks and went to a clinic for a complete examination. The clinical record shows that one of his kidneys has completely ceased to function, h has extremely high hloed pressure (both diastolic and systolic), and has jyrjsryeerlowji cardiac condition. After this clinical report. Hr* WBPBfca-casfr. was watched'very closely by our Medical Department, and it was finally decided by them that his condition would not im prove, They then recommended that he be put on restricted work, H was removed fri'hia classification as pipefitter - 1st class and mad an insulator - let class on April 22, 1946. Subsequently, the Medics! Department determined that h should not be permitted to do any climbing or any type of work requiring strenuous exercise and should net be allowed to contact toxic materials. Under these limi tation, w have n opening on the plant-that 8*40HMBpafill satisfactorily oo we have placed him on disability. If nothing can is lion to aid him further, we feel that it will be necessary to terminate his services at the end of the disability period. This particular case is somewhat typical of at least twenty other employees whom w now have on the plant assigned to restricted work as a result of recommendations by the Medical Department, Some of these employees are suffering fro woff-the-plaai" illnesses or accidents and others from difficulties caused by occupational hazards. those men vary in service from one year up to, as in Polite* ease, approximately nine and one-half years. ,.X 'r h,y' KB 0015400 N20429.01 * ' . !' July 17, 191*6 , In attempting to .arrive at sone final disposition of such cases, several factors should be considered. Firet-s;4J)i5ab33.1tiee~:'*C&fefed* by'Occupation, on the Plant -,^In Ithese hasbfe thfe 'men have some ailment 'which precludes the possibility of theii^ bhl'hg employed on their regular jobs and gives them a v%1ry*5iiniteSlsu&fefulness on the plant. It has been my experience tha'"s'ubh`` cafees*1dri^'-'dlong for several years, the men are placed on restricted''*workjsare1 paid wage s for doing practically nothing, and genft^aliy" end kp by suing the Company for a disability payment under the:'Wprkmhh1fe Compensation Laws. This is particularly true of "back" cases'/ rikhich&fre almost, impossible to prove one way or the. other but whichT-thl hourts in this State generally adjudicate on the basis of the--employee's claims. The question arises as to whether the Company should^discharge such employees immediately and pay the resulting com pensation award or pay them wages for several years and end up by pay ing the compensation award anyway. Second: Cases of Disability from Outside Causes These cases are generally heart, lung, or stomach disorders which if allowed to remain on the plant may lead to more serious com plications for the employee and, as in the instant case of Polito, may result in definite hazard to fellow' workers because of possible faint ing spells or actual death. In view of this, consideration should be given as to how far the Company's liability extends in taking care of such employees because of long- Company service and 'whether or not they should be kept on the plant when their physical condition makes them subject to more serious complications for which the Company may be held responsible. . - Summing up the above, it would appear that it is necessary for the Company to institute some policy which wall clearly define what it considers to be its responsibility toward both occupationsl and non-occupational disability cases. If the Company feels that as a matter of. employee and public good wd.ll' it should make some provision for such employees outside of any legal obligations, it is ny opinion that this policy should be stated in such a way that it can .be published so that all employees mil be aware of how they will be treated In the event they become subject to the procedures outlined in the policy. . JU 4?pTG?.v3f ccr H? h* Ct. tcrt># wtr5' & l5^` ;i'-?:Vt1Mt--U5l?,C8Ccf&_iij>.*:- C*4* ';/'ca h -i CO ': CD i4 Or'1* w> eg A} / H. Schaofor 3 July 17, 1946 The Unions on the plant have stated that they feel that something more than the regular disability provision should be made to take care of employees with cases similar to that oi'<MflHHp^aftsr they have served the Company long and faithfully# They wxlTnot^ how ever take a definite stand on this so that I cannot give you any idea of what they consider to be proper# It is my opinion that where such provisions are made it would probably be necessary to tie them in with a Pension Plan# However, Pension Plans normally require retirement at the age of sixty-five ana are generally predicated on fifteen or sore years of Company service, andtheamount of any pension that could be paid to an employee like with slighly less than ten years* service, who is only forty years of age, would be quite small0 I personally am not sympathetic with the philosophy that merely because a man works for a Company the Company is in any way obligated to care for him for life regardless of what happens# I believe that outside of some nominal help from the Company the man*s condition becomes the problem of his family end, in extenuating circumstances, the public# a certainly are in no position on this plant to continue to make jobs for people with limited capacity# There are very few such jobs on the plant# If the occupants of such jobs are paid anything approaching a decent wage, they immediately become factors in lower ing the morale of other workers who feel that they aro working hard for their wages while the limited employee is doing nothing and getting paid approximately the samo money they are# Is would appreciate it very such if you would review this whole situation and advise us as to the possibility of setting up a Company policy to deal with all such cases and also advise us at your earliest convenience as to what disposition should be mad of case# MEP/wr H S# Pettsgrsw; Industrial Relations Manager HE 0015403