Nation IN BRIEF : MINNESOTA : Reich Rules Against Firm in Sex Bias Case

Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich took administrative action against Honeywell Inc., ruling that the firm discriminated against women in its hiring and promotion practices in the 1970s. Ruling on a case that was brought by Labor Department investigators in 1977, Reich said he had determined that Honeywell discriminated against thousands of women at offices, warehouses and factories around its Minneapolis-St. Paul base. He said he is asking an administrative law judge to determine what compensation, if any, Honeywell should pay. A Honeywell spokesman disputed the ruling, saying: “We have always taken the position that the allegations are unfounded.”