Workplace Policies & Procedures

The foundation of Cooper's employee relations program is to treat all employees with dignity and respect. As such, Cooper is committed to providing a workplace environment free from discrimination and where cultural and ethnic diversity are valued. All Cooper employees are encouraged to develop a cohesive spirit, and each individual's talents are recognized as components in contributing to the Company's growth. Cooper is committed to providing an atmosphere of open communications for all employees. To keep employees informed of current developments and initiatives at the Company, the Company distributes its news publication, Cooper News, to all employees on a quarterly basis. Also, the Cooper Star Awards program recognizes employees across the Company who demonstrate superior support for Cooper's key constituent groups. To attract and retain quality employees, Cooper pays wages and provides benefits that are competitive in both the community and within the industry. Employees are free to select collective bargaining representation or to work in a union-free workplace. Where unions are present, Cooper will deal with them fairly and conduct negotiations in a purposeful and nonadversarial manner. Numerous agreements covering approximately 39% of all hourly production employees exist with bargaining units and various unions covering 16 operations in the United States and 27 international operations.

Cooper has several key policies in place to help ensure that a career with Cooper is safe, rewarding and desirable – regardless of where an employee works. Among these is a longstanding policy to ensure that employment with Cooper includes equal opportunity for advancement for all qualified employees. To further advancement opportunities for employees, Cooper has various training programs and maintains an Educational Refund Program that reimburses employees for tuition and related costs of vocational and higher education courses. Cooper also is committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment. A brief description of each of these policies follows below.

Fair Labor Standards/non-discrimination/workplace diversity/opportunity policy

Cooper created its Equal Employment Opportunities Policy in 1973. This policy is mandatory with regard to Cooper’s corporate headquarters and all domestic operations, and provides general guidance for all worldwide operations. Without regard to an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, mental or physical disability, including disabled veterans having bona fide occupational qualifications and veterans of the Vietnam era, it shall continue to be the policy of the Company to:

• Continue to recruit individuals for employment through all channels suitable to its needs;
• Continue to select and employ individuals solely on the basis of qualifications, experience, training, intelligence, character and the ability to perform essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation;
• Continue to train, compensate, upgrade, transfer, demote, lay off or terminate individuals on the basis of need, opportunity, evaluation of performance and capability;
• Continue to encourage individual initiative and improvement of self development and promotability within the Company; and
• Continue to provide procedures as necessary to ensure individuals of full equality of opportunity without prejudicial discrimination.

The corporate headquarters, as well as each of the Company’s domestic groups, divisions and subsidiaries maintain an annual Affirmative Action Program (AAP) as required under Executive Order 11246, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, revised Order No. 4 of the Office of Contract Compliance Programs, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Act of 1974.

Child Labor/Minimum Hiring Age

Cooper respects the laws of each country with regard to the minimum hiring age for employees and requires verification of age before employment is offered. In no event, does Cooper hire employees younger than 16 years of age even if such employment is permitted in a particular country.

Since 1992, Cooper has maintained a policy that applies to all of its employees, including its worldwide operating groups, divisions and subsidiaries confirming Cooper’s commitment to providing a work environment that is free of harassment. It is the responsibility of every employee to cooperate in maintaining a harassment-free work environment. In keeping with this commitment, Cooper prohibits harassment based upon an individual’s sex, race, color, creed, religion, national origin or citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, sexual preference or orientation, veteran status or any other status protected by federal, state or local law or regulation. The Company considers harassment a serious act of misconduct and will not tolerate unlawful harassment of any employee of Cooper, whether by another employee, supervisor, customer, supplier or vendor, or other business contact. Allegations of unlawful harassment will be promptly investigated. Any employee found to be responsible for unlawful harassment will be disciplined as appropriate, up to and including discharge.

Corporate Safety and Health Policy

Cooper’s Safety and Health Policy, first adopted in 1978, was established to eliminate or reduce injuries and accidents through a systematic approach to the recognition, evaluation, and control of potential safety and health hazards in its facilities. This goal will be pursued in a manner that complies with or exceeds all applicable regulations.

To achieve these objectives, Cooper Industries and its operating units will manage their businesses according to the following principles:

• Facilities will be operated in a manner which protects the safety and health of employees;
• All applicable safety and health regulations and internal policies will be complied with;
• Safety and health will be integrated into the organization’s operational strategy;
• Safety and health considerations will be a priority in planning for all new and modified products, processes and facilities;
• Annual goals and objectives will be developed to identify and address potential safety and health hazards; and
• Employees will have meaningful involvement in safety and health planning, implementation and evaluation efforts.

Cooper's incidence rate of total recordable cases of 4.1 for 2005 was 37% below the National Bureau of Labor Statistics average for the manufacturing sector. These cases are defined as injuries requiring medical attention beyond first aid and are measured in cases per 200,000 man-hours worked. Cooper's incidence of lost time cases of 0.9 for 2005 was 40% below the National Bureau of Labor Statistics average for the manufacturing sector.

Cooper established a unique program, the Take Charge Safety and Health Awards, to increase the awareness and effective management of safety and health processes at all our facilities with a goal of keeping accidents and injuries to a minimum. The Take Charge Safety and Health Awards recognize facilities that have outstanding safety records and demonstrate creative approaches to safety management. Cooper honors top performers on an annual basis with grants to local programs promoting community safety, such as fire prevention, emergency planning and CPR training. More information about Cooper’s Take Charge Safety and Health Awards, including an overview of recent winners, is contained in the Company’s Safety & Health report.