Opinion ID: 159879
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Events of March 1

Text: 42 Mr. Thornton received a written warning, a suspension, and ultimately a discharge, in part for allegedly violating the non-solicitation rule on March 1, and in part for other conduct occurring on March 14 and 15, as more fully explained below. Mr. Obermark testified that he was informed that Mr. Thornton had been involved in a March 1 solicitation of a reluctant employee. Mr. Thornton's testimony vehemently disputes this allegation. On March 1, Mr. Thornton received a written warning similar to those issued to Ms. Almy and Mssrs. Williams and Powell. Mr. Thornton's personal notation on the form also vehemently disputed the allegation. 43 The ALJ generally believed Mr. Thornton's recital of the events. As to the March 1 events, the ALJ ultimately determined that Mr. Thornton was a credible witness and that Mr. Obermark was not. We defer to these findings. 44 Applying the Burnup rule to the March 1 events, under which Mr. Obermark's good faith beliefs as to Mr. Thornton's conduct are immaterial, we agree with the Board that Webco violated 8(a)(1) when it issued the written warning to Mr. Thornton without credible evidence that a violation of the non-solicitation policy occurred. 45