Striking a Blow for Rights in Workplace

The 4th District Court of Appeal has just ruled: Vigorous nose blowing is a legitimate activity in the workplace.

Which is certainly good to know.

Because just the other day I came across somebody in the workplace exercising this very same legal right.

Well, OK, in my paralegal opinion what this guy was doing was actually going beyond the scope of the law--vigorous throat clearing and rather lackluster eye rubbing also being involved--but, hey, who am I , a cop?

So I didn’t say anything, nor attempt anything foolhardy. The last person I remember who tried to make a citizen’s arrest was Gomer Pyle.

Today, poor Gomer’s show has been canceled.

Which can give you an idea of how out of control things can get these days. Here’s what I mean.

Michael Freil was just doing his job on Aug. 13, 1985, a law-abiding citizen in Fountain Valley.

Actually, Michael Freil was the law in Fountain Valley. He was a cop, with a cold. And, as all of you who believe everything you hear on TV can surely attest, a summer cold is a different animal.

Now because Michael Freil was a cop, with a summer cold, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Right!

Vigorous nose blowing.

Fact is, have you ever seen a cop blow his nose in any other way? Of course not! This is the first thing that they teach them at the academy. Be decisive! Take charge! Get those (juvenile dirty word) out of there! With their hands up!

So on that particular dog day in August, Officer Freil was doing exactly as he had been instructed, which, the appellate court points out, was also of benefit to his employer, the city of Fountain Valley, because how else could he be expected to “contact the public and communicate via the radio.”

Precisely. The last cop I remember talking over a police radio in an annoying nasal twang was Gunther Toody.

Today, poor Gunther is dead .

So Officer Freil went into the bathroom of the city garage. There he blew his nose, vigorously.

It was then, however, that--to quote the court--”a bizarre sequence of mishaps” unfolded.

Officer Freil became dizzy and a bit queasy. He called for help, and his supervisor took him to the hospital. There they gave him anti-nausea medication, which caused a stroke, which disabled Freil from police work.

(I’m happy to report that today Michael Freil is doing much better. He is employed as a fraud investigator for a bank, although he still suffers some side effects--bouts of dizziness, headaches and a loss of sensation on his right side--from the fateful nose blow.)

At any rate, all of this would have been just one more cautionary tale for the police academy drill instructor were it not for Fountain Valley’s rather narrow-minded view that Officer Freil just “happened to blow his nose at work.”

In other words, they weren’t about to pay a service-connected disability pension, which, if you ask me, was not very nice.

I, for example, have no problem whatsoever with vigorous nose blowing--especially if the person doing the blowing is wearing a gun.

And, believe me, when you’re talking about things that employers should prohibit from the workplace, vigorous nose blowing isn’t even in the top 10.

Tuna. That would be No. 1.

The appeals court agrees with me. About the nose blowing, I mean.

It ordered the Worker’s Compensation Appeals Board to set aside its ruling against Michael Freil and try again.

Here I quote the Honorable Thomas F. Crosby, justice of the 4th District Court of Appeal, Santa Ana:

“There was no evidence that Freil had ever previously suffered debilitating side effects from blowing his nose. . . . So long as the vigorous nose blowing bore a relationship to his ability to carry out his duties, the chain of events that led to his stroke and disability must be viewed as arising within the penumbra of legitimate activity in the workplace.”

In other words, pay up, big guys.

For one thing, it should be a lot cheaper than the taxpayers’ money you’re spending in court.

And, by the way, Michael Freil’s attorney says the request you filed for an appellate rehearing was “snotty.”

Gesundheit !

Dianne Klein’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Readers may reach Klein by writing to her at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626, or calling (714) 966-7406.