European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 06, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday september 6. 1985 the stars and stripes Page 5 comparable Worth ruling struck Down neither Law nor logic supports lawsuit court says san Francisco a the nation s first statewide comparable Worth ruling was overturned wednesday by a Federal appeals court which said the slate of Washington did not have to offer women equal pay for jobs of equal Worth. Neither Law nor logic deems the free Market a suspect Enterprise did the 9th is. Circuit court of appeals in reversing a decision that could have provided As much As $1 billion in damages to 15,500 workers. A three member panel of in court said Federal Laws Banning sex discrimination in employment do not require an employer to provide equal pay for different jobs even if the employer s own studies say the jobs have the same value. In holding the state liable for damages in 1983, . District judge Jack Tanner had cited a study commissioned by the slate government showing a 20 percent salary Gap Between workers in predominantly female and pre dominantly male jobs that required similar Levels of skill mental demands accountability and working conditions. The appeals court said a wage Gap by itself docs not show that the state intentionally discriminated against women. Media magnate Murdoch gains . Citizenship new York a australian Media magnate Rupert Murdoch became a . Citizen on wednesday Clear ing an obstacle to his 52 billion Purchase of the United states Margrat group of Independent television stations. Murdoch 54, pledged allegiance to the United Stales along with 185 other new citizens in a 15-minute ceremony at is. District court in Manhattan. In the oath he wore to renounce and abjure All allegiance and Fidelity to any foreign Prince potentate state or sovereignty to whom or which i have heretofore been a subject or citizen. Murdoch said afterwards that he became a . Citizen because i wanted to and i m very  he declined to say if he changed his citizenship to comply with regulations limiting an alien s ownership of a broadcast License. Murdoch plans to add the seven metro Media inc. Television stations to a Media Empire that now in Murdoch eludes More than 80 newspapers and magazines and half of 20th Century Fox film corp. His . Newspapers include the new York Post the Chicago Sun times and the Boston Herald. Under Federal communication commission rules he May have to sell the Post and Sun tunes if he retains met Ormedia stations new to in new York and wild to in Chicago two of the seven stations he is buying. Murdoch has agreed to buy the metro Media stations for about s650 million in Cash also assuming a Bond debt of is .45 billion. He then would sell one of the stations a cab to in Boston to Hearst corp. For j450 million. The 1964 Federal civil rights act does not obligate Washington to eliminate an economic inequality which it did not create said the opinion by judge Anthony Kennedy. In language that could be devastating to the comparable Worth theory Kennedy said an employer can follow prevailing Market wages in setting salaries even if those wages underpay women. The state did not create the Market disparity and has not been shown to have been motivated by impermissible sex based consid Eralio is in Selling salaries Kennedy said. Comparable Worth is a policy of equal pay for different jobs that Are judged to be of equal value. Feminist groups that promote the concept say it would remedy discrimination against Large numbers of women in predominantly female jobs such As secretarial and clerk positions who Are not helped by Laws requiring equal pay for equal work. Business groups and the Reagan administration strongly oppose the concept. A similar suit is pending in California on behalf of 37,000 workers in female dominated jobs. The Washington suit was filed by the american of Cdr Fromme skips parole hearing on life sentence Charleston . Up1 Lynette squeaky Fromme once a member of cult killer Charles Manson s inner Circle has passed up her first Opportunity to shorten a life sentence imposed for her attempt to assassinate former president Gerald Ford. Fromme elected not to appear wednesday before a parole commission but she has the option of doing so every two months when members routinely visit the Federal correctional institution for women. She was convicted of try ing to shoot Ford in 1975 when he was visiting Sacra mento. After serving about three years in a California prison Fromme was transferred to the West Virginia facility Fromme where David Helman executive assistant to the Warden described her As pleasant and Cooper  under Federal statutes she is allowed to seek parole after serving 10 years of her term. She has not Given us any reason for not having this hearing Helman said. In 1967, Fromme joined the Manson family a nomadic band of dropouts headed by Charles Manson now serving a life sentence in California for the Tate Labianca murders. Alion of stale county and municipal employees after the stale passed a Law in 1983 phasing in a comparable Worth pay policy Over a 10-year period. The suit accused the stale of discrimination in refusing to implement immediately the results of. Its study commissioned in 1974, that evaluated state jobs and showed wage gaps. The appeals court refused to bind the state to the results of its study saying employers should not be penalized for undertaking such a study in the first place. A study which indicates a particular wage Structure might be More equitable should not categorically bind the employer who commissioned it Kennedy said. The employer should also be Able to Lake into account Market conditions bargaining demands and the possibility thai another study will yield different  the value of a Job to an employer is but one Factor influencing the Rale of compensation Kennedy said. He said other factors May include availability of workers and the effectiveness of collective bargaining. In Washington. D.c., Justice department spokesman Thomas Stewart refused comment on the opinion until attorneys could study it. Former Epa official Lave be released from Federal prison Pleasanton Calif. A Rita Lavelle former chief of the Federal toxic waste superfund was released irom prison wednesday after serving All but three weeks of a six month sentence for lying to Congress. Thank god it s Over the former environmental Protection Agency official said at a Brief news conference outside the Federal correctional Institute. My experience has been a unique one a dramatic one. The fact that i was a woman caught in a Power grab Between the legislative and executive branches on the government has made it even More intriguing she said. Lavelle 37, said she has finished the first draft of a Book on her experiences. In addition to the prison sentence she was fined j 10,000. She spent her time in prison leaching English to fellow prisoners and was released Early because of her Good behaviour her lawyer said. She plans to live in California she  told reporters. Lavelle who was fired from her Job by president Reagan was convicted in december 1983 of lying about when she discovered Hal her former employer Aero Jet general corp. Of Sacramento was dumping logic Wales Al the Spring follow acid Pils near Riverside. The . Supreme court is not expected to decide we Cher to hear an Appeal of her conviction until it begins its 1985-86 Lerm in october. Her Appeal contends thai a trial judge erred by barring Cross examination of Epa attorneys about possible ethical violations and that evidence of other false testimony before Congress should not have been introduced Al her trial. Sands or time in the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. Sept. 6, 1945 to attract More volunteers to military service the House military affaire committee tentatively voted to allow a Soldier to voluntarily retire after 20 years arid draw half his average annual pay. At present a Man can retire Afler 20 years Only if he is disabled. 30 years ago today., sept. 6, 1955 three prominent moroccan nationalists flew to Madagascar for a secret conference with exiled Sultan Mohammed Ben Youssuf amid reports thai agreement has been reached on key Points of the French plan for moroccan self Rule. 20 years ago foday. Sept. 6,1965 or. Albert Schweitzer 90, died in his sleep in Lambarena Gabon and was buried Al his african Jungle Hospital. F 0 years ago foday. Sept 6 1975 Lynette Fromme a Young woman Follower of convicted murderer Charles Manson aimed a loaded gun at president Ford in Sacramento Calif. A Secrel service agent tackled her As Ford recoiled and ducked away. 82,600 pm cars ordered recalled to Cut emissions Detroit a the environmental Protection Agency issued its first recall order wednesday for can that pollute too much while standing still with the engine off. The Epa said it had ordered general motors corp. To recall 82,600 can from the 1981 Model year equipped with 4.3-Litcr, v 8 engines because of gasoline fumes thai escape from the fuel by slim. The can Are the Chevrolet Malibu and Monte Carlo Buick Century Cen cry Wagon and regal and the Pontiac grand prix Catalina Bonneville firebird la mans and safari Wagon. Cars made for Sale under California s stricter pollution standards weren t affected Epa said. Pm said it would contest the action be cause it believes the testing procedure is unfair. The Agency said the fumes evaporative hydrocarbon emissions represent one third of the hydrocarbon emissions from motor vehicles the rest comes Oul the exhaust pipe after the fuel is burned. The recalled cars put out three times More gasoline Vapours than allowed by Feder Al standards for a car at rest Epa spokeswoman Martha Casey said. The Vapours come from the carburettors Gas Lank fuel lines any part of the fuel system especially after say you be driven to work and parked the car. There s a lot of emissions then Casey said. Casey said the Epa believes something is wrong with the cars charcoal canisters which Are supposed to trap hydrocarbon Vapours