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After providing "above and beyond" support for an employee whose child was killed in an automobile accident, Union Pacific Railroad recently received a 2003 Compassionate Employer Recognition award from The Compassionate Friends, a self-help bereavement organization.

UP was one of 45 U.S. employers to receive this year's award, presented annually to employers that "go above and beyond the normal policies of most companies in helping an employee after the death of a child," according to The Compassionate Friends, an international organization with about 600 U.S. chapters.

Criteria for "Compassionate Employer" recognition are:

• Corporate policies that reflect a compassionate attitude toward bereaved parents and siblings;
• Personal support extended by management toward bereaved parents and siblings on their staff;
• Caring attitudes demonstrated by an employer's entire workforce;
• Flexibility in work assignments and evaluation of job performance during the stress and personal pain associated with the death of a child; and
• All other acts of compassion that bereaved parents and siblings will forever remember.

Russ Lloyd, director of construction for UP's engineering and construction department, had nominated the railroad for the award based on the support he and his family received from his manager and UP following his daughter's death.

"The well-being of Union Pacific employees is our top priority," said Barb Schaefer, UP's senior vice president of human resources, in a prepared statement. "We are honored to accept this award on behalf of our employees, and in recognition of the many efforts underway to support their needs."

For more information about the award program, contact The Compassionate Friends at 877-969-0010, or visit www.compassionatefriends.org.