Deaf St. Paul worker gets settlement

The state said that Local 10 of the Sheet Metal Workers' Union discriminated in job assignments for apprentice Michael Sherman.

By LORA PABST, Star Tribune

Last update: November 26, 2009 - 8:39 PM

Print this story

Follow local news on Twitter

More from Local + Metro

An apprentice sheet metal worker from St. Paul will get $48,500 to settle a complaint that union leaders repeatedly refused to give him field assignments because he is deaf.

Michael Sherman, who logged more than 4,400 hours as an apprentice, was unfairly discriminated against by officials with the Sheet Metal Workers' Union Local 10 and an affiliated Joint Training and Apprenticeship Committee, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

"The department's investigation found that stereotypes about deafness had led to a feeling among local industry professionals that deaf persons should not work in the field,'' the department announced this week.

But investigators concluded that union officials failed to identify the kinds of work Sherman could have performed in the field and did not take steps to help him communicate with other workers, such as providing a pager that would vibrate instead of issuing a warning beep. Investigators also discovered that another deaf apprentice working outside the metro area was allowed to work in the field and perform tasks, such as welding, that don't require oral communication.

Union officials agreed to pay the money without admitting to any wrongdoing.

Sherman declined to comment.

Sherman became an apprentice in May 2005. About a year later, after Sherman completed a shop assignment, union leaders conducted a field evaluation of his work. Sherman told union officials that he preferred to work in a shop, but was also prepared to take field work as it was assigned from a union list that tracks recent assignments. Apprentices who have been out of work the longest are placed at the top of the list.

When union officials expressed concerns for Sherman's safety, he said he knew he had some limitations but that his co-workers "would need to learn to communicate in different ways."

A year later, after completing a series of temporary shop assignments, Sherman said he discovered that union leaders had repeatedly passed him over for jobs, handing out work to people who had less time on the list. Union officials told him that he would not be given assignments in the field because of his disability.

"They refused to give proper consideration to the reasonable accommodations that would allow me to safely and successfully work in the field," Sherman wrote in his complaint.

In making its decision, the state pointed out that the union did not consult with experts who specialize in accommodations for deaf workers.

As part of the settlement, Sherman agreed to resign from the union and never seek sheet metal work with any companies under contract with Local 10.

The settlement also requires the union to hold training for managers and supervisors on the Minnesota Human Rights Act and to reexamine its policies about accommodating people who have disabilities.

Marty Strub, the union president, said the union has other deaf members, but none of them has expressed dissatisfaction with working conditions. The union has between 4,500 and 5,000 members across Minnesota, South and North Dakota and part of Wisconsin.

Lora Pabst • 612-673-4628