Opinion ID: 627393
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Interrogation of Employees

Text: 26 Christina Welton worked in the Home's dietary department. She attended the July 5 union organization meeting and signed a union authorization card. At the hearing before the ALJ, she testified that, the day after the meeting, Dietary Supervisor Mildred Fisher took her aside at work and asked whether she or anyone from the dietary department had attended the meeting. Welton denied any knowledge of the meeting. 27 Before the ALJ, Fisher denied having any conversation with Welton about the union meeting, admitting only that she had heard from other employees that Welton, Welton's mother LPN Judy Read, and LPN Brenda Toothman had attended. Fisher also testified that she and other supervisors were advised by Home Administrator Wimer at a meeting of department heads as to what could and could not be said to employees about the union. 28 The Board found that the questioning of Welton constituted unlawful interrogation in violation of Sec. 158(a)(1). The Board credited Welton's testimony over that of Fisher because Welton was no longer employed by the Home at the time of the hearing and had nothing to gain by testifying falsely about the incident. In contrast, the Board did not consider Fisher to be a credible witness, finding that she did not specifically deny Welton's story, but instead gave brief responses to carefully couched questions during direct examination. Moreover, Fisher's credibility was weakened by her admission on cross-examination that the meeting with Administrator Wimer did not occur until after the July 5 union meeting. 29 George Hopkins worked as a janitor for the Home. In April 1990, as a result of the financial problems the Home was then experiencing, he was laid off. He was subsequently rehired in late June. Following his return, Hopkins attended the July 5 meeting and signed an authorization card. He testified before the ALJ that, on July 15, five days after the Teamsters Union had filed an election petition, Richard Carlson, the Home's Maintenance Supervisor, approached him at work and said: I've got to ask you this question. You can tell me if it's none of my business if you want to. Has [sic] any of the nurses or aides harassed you about the union? Hopkins said no. Carlson denied initiating a conversation with Hopkins about the union. Rather, he testified at the administrative hearing that Hopkins asked him about the union, and that he told Hopkins he had a right to vote on the matter as he saw fit. 30 The Board credited Hopkins's version of events, noting that he, like Christina Welton, was not employed by the Home at the time and had nothing to gain by fabricating his testimony. Consequently, the Board concluded that Carlson unlawfully interrogated Hopkins in an attempt to elicit the names of employees who had spoken with him about the union. 31 The Home challenges the Board's findings with respect to both Welton and Hopkins. We begin our discussion with an overview of the law and the nature of our review. Coercive interrogation of an employee about his union sentiments can violate Sec. 158(a)(1) of the NLRA. NLRB v. Berger Transfer & Storage Company, 678 F.2d 679, 689 (7th Cir.1982); NLRB v. Rich's Precision Foundry, Inc., 667 F.2d 613, 624 (7th Cir.1981). In order to establish a violation, it need not be shown that an attempt at coercion succeeded; the test of interference with the right of self-organization is whether the employer engaged in conduct which reasonably tended to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees with respect to union activities. NLRB v. Almet, Inc., 987 F.2d 445, 451 (7th Cir.1993); NLRB v. Ajax Tool Works, Inc., 713 F.2d 1307, 1313 (7th Cir.1983) (per curiam); Rich's Precision Foundry, 667 F.2d at 624. 32 In determining the effect of an employer's interrogation on an employee, the court should consider, inter alia, the background of employer-employee-union relations, the identity and authority of the questioner, the nature of the information sought, the place and method of questioning, and the truthfulness of the reply. Rich's Precision Foundry, 667 F.2d at 624; Ajax Tool Works, 713 F.2d at 1314; First Lakewood Associates v. NLRB, 582 F.2d 416, 418-19 (7th Cir.1978). These factors are not exclusive, however; in the end, the court must consider all relevant circumstances, including whether the questions were accompanied by a persuasive legitimate explanation for the employer's interest and whether the questioned employee was assured that no reprisals would follow his response. Ajax Tool Works, 713 F.2d at 1314. 33 Turning to the specific findings before us, we point out that the resolution of conflicting testimony is for the ALJ and the Board, and their credibility determinations will not be overturned absent extraordinary circumstances. Augusta Bakery Corporation, 957 F.2d at 1477; Roadmaster Corporation, 874 F.2d at 453 n. 4; Richmond Recording Corporation v. NLRB, 836 F.2d 289, 295 (7th Cir.1987). We find nothing exceptional about the Board's credibility findings, and proceed to the substantive issue of whether the questioning of Welton and Hopkins violated Sec. 158(a)(1). 34 Both Welton and Hopkins attended the union meeting, both were questioned at work by their supervisors (in Welton's case, one day after the meeting; in Hopkins's case, within a week of the election petition filing), and both were questioned directly about union activity and their possible involvement. Welton did not truthfully answer Fisher's question, permitting the reasonable inference that she feared possible reprisal. See Ajax Tool Works, 713 F.2d at 1315. 35 Carlson approached Hopkins saying that he had a question, and that Hopkins could tell him it was none of his business if he wished. The Board reasonably concluded from this statement that the Home was requiring its supervisors to ask employees about their union activities. Moreover, Hopkins had recently returned to the Home after having been laid off. It is doubtful, given the Home's financial problems during the summer of 1990 and, as a consequence, the tenuous nature of Hopkins's job security, that he believed he could take his supervisor at his word and tell him to mind his own business. That subsequently the Home took no action against either employee is irrelevant; the proper inquiry is the context of the interrogation itself. On the record as a whole, substantial evidence supports the Board's conclusions that the questioning of Welton and Hopkins amounted to unlawful interrogation in violation of Sec. 158(a)(1). 36