Opinion ID: 728892
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Discipline and Discharge of LaRussa

Text: 30 In addition to engaging in unlawful surveillance of LaRussa and several co-employees, Parsippany also disciplined LaRussa on five separate occasions and ultimately discharged him. On March 3, 1993, LaRussa failed to arrive at work because he was testifying before the Board concerning the upcoming representation election. Because LaRussa failed to give proper notice to Parsippany that he would be absent, he received a verbal warning. Exactly two weeks later, on March 17, LaRussa received his first written warning for screaming abusively and cursing at a female manager. On April 4, LaRussa received a second written warning when he arrived 54 minutes late to work without giving proper notice. On May 6, he received his third written warning for punching in early. LaRussa received his fourth and final written warning on June 15 for failing to report for his scheduled shift on Sunday, June 13. LaRussa was then discharged on June 18 under Parsippany's progressive discipline policy. 31 The May 6 warning arose out of the change Parsippany made to its compensation policy in January 1993. As discussed above, in January, Parsippany changed its method of compensation from commission to an hourly system. Under the former system of compensation, an employee's income was not determined by the number of hours worked. Thus, it was common for Parsippany's employees to clock in early for work under the old system. Though the method of compensation changed in January 1993, Parsippany's employees did not immediately alter their clock-in habits. As the ALJ found, even through May 1993, it was quite common for employees to clock in early for work. On May 5 and 6, LaRussa clocked in for work approximately one-half hour early. 32 To address the problem of early clock-ins, Christine Wester, the banquet manager at the facility, held a meeting with the banquet workers sometime in early May and informed them that they were no longer to clock in early. Though LaRussa had been excused from this meeting for a doctor's appointment, the ALJ found that he was informed of the new clock-in policy at a later time. However, the exact date on which the meeting was held and on which LaRussa was informed of the new clock-in policy was in dispute. After hearing evidence from both sides, the ALJ was able to conclude only that the meeting occurred after May 4. Then, based on testimony that Wester did not work on May 5, the ALJ concluded that LaRussa was not informed of the new clock-in policy until after he arrived and clocked in early for work on May 6. The ALJ found that LaRussa had not been informed of the new clock-in policy when he clocked in early on May 5 and 6, and received a written warning for violating the policy. 33 LaRussa received his fourth and final written warning for failing to report to work as scheduled on Sunday, June 13. The ALJ found that on Tuesday, June 8, LaRussa attempted to ask Wester if he could have Sunday off so that he could attend the birthday party for the daughter of his co-employee, Melissa Brennan. Wester was busy at the time and told LaRussa to talk to her the following day about having Sunday off. The ALJ found that LaRussa called Wester the next day, Wednesday, as instructed and left a message with the catering sales manager, Siros Kalantary, to remind Wester that LaRussa needed Sunday off. On Thursday, Wester informed LaRussa that she had received his message but was unable to give him Sunday off. LaRussa then offered to locate a substitute for his scheduled Sunday shift. Later on Thursday, LaRussa contacted Marge McKay and asked her to work his Sunday shift for him. The ALJ found that McKay agreed to fill in for LaRussa. However, the ALJ found that when LaRussa informed Wester that McKay would cover his shift, Wester rejected McKay as a substitute because McKay had previously refused to work on Sundays when Wester so requested. Despite Wester's rejection of McKay as a substitute, LaRussa failed to appear for work on Sunday. Two days later, LaRussa was issued his fourth written warning for failure to arrive for his scheduled shift. On June 18, LaRussa was fired under Parsippany's progressive discipline policy which provided that an employee was subject to discharge if he received three or more written warnings. 34 Several employees testified and the ALJ found that Parsippany's established company policy was that an employee could take a day off if the request was made by the prior Wednesday, the day on which the work schedule was posted. An employee could still take a day off if the request was made after the prior Wednesday so long as that employee was able to locate another employee to cover his shift. The ALJ found that the only exception to this rule was for extremely busy days when all employees were needed. 35 The ALJ concluded that both Parsippany's verbal warning to LaRussa on March 3 as well as its first written warning to him on March 17 were nondiscriminatory. However, the ALJ found that the final three written warnings issued to LaRussa as well as his discharge on June 18 were all motivated by anti-union animus on the part of Parsippany and would not have occurred absent such animus. The Board adopted the ALJ's findings and affirmed the ALJ's conclusions of law except for that relating to the written warning of April 4. Regarding the April 4 warning, the Board accepted the ALJ's finding that the warning was motivated by LaRussa's union activities, but then concluded that Parsippany would have issued the warning even in the absence of LaRussa's protected conduct. As a result, the Board concluded that while Parsippany had violated Sections 8(a)(1), (3) and (4) of the Act by disciplining LaRussa on May 6 and June 13 and discharging him on June 18, Parsippany had not violated the Act by disciplining LaRussa on April 4. See Parsippany Hotel Management Co., 319 N.L.R.B. No. 22, at 1. 36 As we noted above, an employer violates Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA if it interfere[s] with, restrain[s], or coerce[s] employees in the exercise of the[ir] right[ ] to self-organize. 29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1). Section 8(a)(3) specifically declares an employer in violation of the Act if it discriminates in regard to ... tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment to ... discourage membership in any labor organization. 29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(3). Section 8(a)(4) provides that it is an unfair labor practice for an employer to discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because he has ... given testimony under this subchapter. 29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(4). While these provisions of the Act prohibit the discharge of an employee because of union activity, even an employee engaged in union activity may be discharged for reasons unrelated to the employee's union activities. N.L.R.B. v. Transportation Management Corp., 462 U.S. 393, 394, 103 S.Ct. 2469, 2470, 76 L.Ed.2d 667 (1983). Therefore, in those instances in which an unlawful discharge is alleged, the critical question is whether anti-union considerations spurred [the] firing. Synergy Gas Corp., 19 F.3d at 652. 37 In Transportation Management Corp., the Supreme Court approved the test developed by the Board in Wright Line, Inc., 251 N.L.R.B. 1083, 1980 WL 12312 (1980), enforced on other grounds, 662 F.2d 899 (1st Cir.1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 989, 102 S.Ct. 1612, 71 L.Ed.2d 848 (1982), for determining whether the discipline of a particular employee violated the Act. Under the Wright Line test, the General Counsel has the burden of persuading the Board that an antiunion animus contributed to the employer's decision to discharge an employee. Transportation Management, 462 U.S. at 395, 103 S.Ct. at 2471. The Board need not find that an employee's union activity was the sole motive for the discharge; it is sufficient for purposes of establishing a violation of the Act that union affiliation or activity was one of the reasons for the discharge. Id. at 398, 401, 103 S.Ct. at 2472-73, 2474. In order to establish a prima facie case of unlawful motivation under the first part of the Wright Line test, the General Counsel must prove not only that the employer knew of the employee's pro-union activities, but also that the timing of the alleged reprisal was proximate to the protected activities and that there was anti-union animus to link the factors of timing and knowledge to the improper motivation. MECO Corp. v. N.L.R.B., 986 F.2d 1434, 1437 (D.C.Cir.1993) (internal quotation omitted). However, even if the Board finds that the discharge of an employee was motivated in part by the employer's anti-union animus, an employer may avoid a finding that it violated the Act under the second prong of the Wright Line test by demonstrating that the employee would have been fired even if he had not been involved with the union. Transportation Management, 462 U.S. at 395, 103 S.Ct. at 2471. 38 The ALJ found that Parsippany was motivated by anti-union animus when it issued written warnings to LaRussa on May 6 and June 15 and discharged him on June 18. As evidence of this illicit motivation, the ALJ pointed to Parsippany's previous displays of anti-union animus, specifically General Manager Hermany's anti-union speech as well as the company's unlawful surveillance of employees. The ALJ further inferred anti-union animus from the pretextual nature of the warning and discharge of LaRussa. According to the ALJ, the May 6 discipline of LaRussa was unjustified because LaRussa was not notified of the new policy against clocking in early until after he received the written warning for such on May 6. The ALJ also found that the written warning issued to LaRussa on June 15 was unjustified. According to the ALJ, Wester gave no valid reason for denying LaRussa's request that he be allowed to take Sunday off. Moreover, Wester's proffered reason for refusing to accept McKay as LaRussa's substitute was rather transparent. Having previously found that Parsippany was well aware of LaRussa's union activity, the ALJ concluded that the warnings and discharge of LaRussa were motivated by anti-union animus and would not have occurred absent LaRussa's union activity. 39 On appeal, Parsippany contends that the finding that Parsippany violated the Act by disciplining and discharging LaRussa was in error because the General Counsel failed to establish a prima facie case of anti-union animus. Citing MECO Corp., 986 F.2d at 1437, Parsippany first argues that the Board erred in relying on General Manager Hermany's anti-union speech as evidence of Parsippany's anti-union animus. According to Parsippany, because Hermany  'had [nothing] to do with the discharge of' ... the discriminatee[ ],'  his anti-union comments  'constitute less than substantial evidence of anti-union animus.'  MECO Corp., 986 F.2d at 1437. Moreover, Parsippany asserts that Hermany's speech provides no evidence of anti-union animus because it did not contain any 'threat of reprisal or force or promise of benefit.'  Parsippany also contends that the company's surveillance activity does not indicate anti-union animus because the surveillance, if any, was de minimis and lacked a nexus with the disciplinary action taken against LaRussa. 40 As an initial matter, Parsippany's assertion that Hermany's speech is not evidence of anti-union animus merely because the speech contained no threat of reprisal or force or promise of benefit is without merit. A company's open hostility toward Union activity, and its 8(a)(1) violations, are clearly sufficient to establish anti-union animus on the part of that company. Teamsters Local Union No. 171 v. N.L.R.B., 863 F.2d 946, 956 (D.C.Cir.1988), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1065, 109 S.Ct. 2063, 104 L.Ed.2d 628 (1989). In this case, Hermany's anti-union speech prohibiting all union solicitation on company premises plainly violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act. See Restaurant Corp. of America v. N.L.R.B., 827 F.2d 799, 804-05 (D.C.Cir.1987). The ALJ thus properly relied on Hermany's anti-union speech as evidence of Parsippany's anti-union animus. 41 Parsippany's assertion that the Hermany speech did not establish anti-union animus because Hermany was not involved in the discharge and discipline of LaRussa is equally without merit. Parsippany's reliance on our opinion in MECO Corp., 986 F.2d at 1437, is misplaced. In MECO Corp., we held that the prior anti-union comments of two low-level factory supervisors were insufficient to establish that an employee was discharged because of anti-union animus where neither supervisor ... had anything to do with [the] discharge. Id. Hermany was not a low-level supervisor, but a high-level corporate manager. While it may be unreasonable to attribute to a corporation the anti-union sentiment expressed by low-level supervisors, see Pittsburgh S.S. Co. v. N.L.R.B., 180 F.2d 731, 741 (6th Cir.1950), aff'd., 340 U.S. 498, 71 S.Ct. 453, 95 L.Ed. 479 (1951), it is eminently reasonable to assume that high-level corporate managers speak on behalf of the company when they express anti-union animus. As a result, the fact that Hermany was not personally involved in the discharge of LaRussa is irrelevant. There is no evidence in the record that Parsippany repudiated Hermany's speech or that Hermany was removed from his position as General Manager because of his speech. Absent such evidence, we cannot say that the ALJ erred in attributing Hermany's anti-union expressions to Parsippany. 42 Parsippany further contends that it was improper for the ALJ to rely on the Company's surveillance activity as evidence of anti-union animus. However, surveillance of employees violates Section 8(a)(1) of the Act, and as this court held in Teamsters Local Union No. 171, 863 F.2d at 956, violations of Section 8(a)(1) evidence anti-union animus. Perhaps in an attempt to avoid the holding of that case, Parsippany argues that its surveillance activity provides no evidence of anti-union animus because its surveillance activity, if any, was de minimis and not suggestive of overt, aggressive anti-union animus. We are baffled by this argument. To the extent that Parsippany is suggesting that its surveillance activity was unintentional, its position is untenable. The ALJ found that additional security officers were brought to the New Jersey facility in the week preceding the representation election. Upon arriving, Parsippany managers met with these security officers and specifically identified union activists for them. These guards then engaged in surveillance of company employees for up to three hours at a time, and rhetorically questioned employees concerning their desire for a union. Parsippany's Section 8(a)(1) violation classically evidenced anti-union animus. 43 Parsippany also objects to the ALJ's reliance on the Company's surveillance activity on the ground that there was no nexus whatsoever between the surveillance activity and the disciplinary action taken against LaRussa. While we have required that the General Counsel establish proximity in time between alleged reprisals and an employee's union activity, see MECO Corp., 986 F.2d at 1437, Parsippany cites no case in which we have required the General Counsel to demonstrate a nexus between each item of employer conduct evidencing anti-union animus and a reprisal taken against an employee. Indeed, rather than requiring a link between conduct evidencing anti-union animus and a reprisal, we have held that anti-union conduct acts as the link between an employer's knowledge of an employee's union activities and reprisals taken against that employee. Id. Therefore, Parsippany's nexus argument is without merit. 44 In sum, we conclude that it was proper for the ALJ to rely on the Hermany speech and the Company's surveillance activity as evidence of anti-union animus. Given the existence of anti-union animus on the part of Parsippany as well as Parsippany's knowledge of LaRussa's union activity and the proximity in time between LaRussa's last concerted activity (i.e., voting in the representation election on April 22) and the disciplinary action taken against him (i.e., warnings on May 6 and June 15; discharge on June 18), we cannot say that it was unreasonable for the Board to conclude that LaRussa was disciplined and discharged because of his union activity. 45 Parsippany responds that even if the disciplinary actions taken against LaRussa were motivated in part by anti-union animus, the Company would have taken the same action against LaRussa regardless of his union activity. Thus, Parsippany asserts, the second prong of the Wright Line test prohibits a finding that the Company violated the Act, and the ALJ's conclusion to the contrary results from a failure to consider all relevant factors. We disagree. 46 Parsippany first argues that the ALJ failed to consider the testimony of two witnesses that LaRussa was informed of the Company's new clock-in policy on May 4, prior to his violation of the policy on May 5 and 6. The ALJ considered the testimony, he simply did not credit it. There was conflicting evidence before the ALJ concerning the date on which LaRussa was informed of the Company's new clock-in policy. Two Company managers, Wester and Kalantary, both testified that LaRussa was informed of the new clock-in policy after the meeting with all employees on May 4. However, LaRussa testified that he was not told of the new policy until after he had clocked in early on May 6. Given this conflicting testimony, the ALJ was required to make a credibility determination, a determination which was difficult because he found LaRussa, Kalantary, and Wester to [all] be fairly credible witnesses. Looking to circumstantial evidence to resolve this dilemma, the ALJ elected to credit LaRussa's testimony that he was not informed of the new clock-in policy until after he clocked in early on May 6. 47 An ALJ's credibility determinations, as adopted by the Board, must be accepted by this court unless they are patently insupportable. Exxel/Atmos, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 28 F.3d 1243, 1246 (D.C.Cir.1994) (internal quotations omitted). On this record, we are unable to conclude that the ALJ's credibility determination ran afoul of this standard. As noted by the ALJ, Wester had previously provided conflicting evidence concerning the date on which she notified LaRussa of the new clock-in policy. In an affidavit filed with the Board, Wester stated that she was unsure of the specific date of the meeting she held with employees. She further stated in that affidavit that she spoke to LaRussa concerning the new policy a couple of days after th[at] meeting. However, when Wester testified before the ALJ, Wester stated firmly that she held the meeting with her employees on May 4, and informed LaRussa of the new policy later that afternoon. The ALJ relied on this discrepancy in making his credibility determination. The ALJ further relied on the fact that Company time cards showed that Joan Roetto, a banquet server at Parsippany, punched in early on May 5. Roetto impressed the ALJ as an employee who [went] by the book, and thus would not have punched in early on May 5 had Wester's meeting with the employees been held prior to that date. Because the ALJ believed the meeting with employees was held after May 4 and because Wester testified that she did not work on May 5, the ALJ concluded that LaRussa was not informed of the new clock-in policy until after he clocked in early for work on May 6. This circumstantial evidence provided more than a sufficient basis for the ALJ's conclusion. The Board adopted the ALJ's decision, and we thus defer to the Board's conclusion that LaRussa was not informed of the new clock-in policy until after he clocked in early on May 6. 48 Parsippany also takes issue with the Board's finding that it was improper to discipline LaRussa for failing to arrive at work on Sunday, June 13. The ALJ found that LaRussa was denied his request that he be allowed to take Sunday off despite the fact that he made a timely request for such in accordance with the Company's established policy. When LaRussa asked why his request had been denied, the ALJ found that Wester provided no valid reason. The ALJ further found that despite this unwarranted rejection of LaRussa's request, LaRussa nonetheless obtained McKay to cover his shift. However, Wester rejected McKay as a substitute on the ground that because McKay had in the past not worked for Wester on Sunday for religious reasons, she was not an acceptable substitute for LaRussa. Having been frustrated in his two attempts to take Sunday off in accordance with Company policy, LaRussa simply refused to arrive at work on Sunday. Given the Company policy of permitting employees to take a day off if they either notified their manager or secured a substitute, the ALJ concluded that Parsippany's reliance on LaRussa's absence as a basis for discharging him was a mere pretext. Given the extensive evidence before the ALJ, his conclusion was not unreasonable. 49 Parsippany argues in response that Wester did not reject McKay as a substitute. Rather, Parsippany argues, Wester was never notified by McKay that she would cover for LaRussa. This argument is simply another challenge to the ALJ's credibility determination. According to Parsippany, the Board's conclusion was unjustified because it failed to consider the undisputed and corroborated testimony of Wester that as late as Friday night she was attempting to contact McKay to confirm that she would cover LaRussa's Sunday shift. However, the ALJ explicitly discredit[ed] Wester's testimony that she was willing to accept McKay as LaRussa's substitute. Instead, the ALJ accepted LaRussa's testimony that upon notifying Wester that McKay would cover the Sunday shift, Wester responded that she's [McKay] not working for you. As stated above, this court will accept an ALJ's credibility determination so long as it is not patently insupportable. Exxel/Atmos, Inc., 28 F.3d at 1246. Parsippany essentially argues that because Wester's testimony was in conflict with that of LaRussa, it was improper for the ALJ to adopt LaRussa's version of events. This argument is without merit. The mere fact that conflicting evidence exists is insufficient to render a credibility determination patently insupportable, since such a conflict is present in every instance in which a credibility determination is required.