Opinion ID: 627393
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The August 10, 1990 Schedule

Text: 45 LPN Michelle Sands had worked for the Home during several intervals of time 11 and was perhaps the most visible union supporter at the facility. She testified on behalf of the union at the August 2, 1990 Board hearing to determine whether the Home's RNs and LPNs would be eligible to vote in the union election scheduled for October. Later, she filed a charge against the Home and testified at both administrative proceedings in these cases. LPN Deanna Bly attended the July 25 union organization meeting and was a known union supporter. 46 On August 10, the Home posted a new two-week work schedule for nurses. Previously, the Home had scheduled nurses' shifts on a monthly basis. The August 10 schedule replaced a schedule that had two weeks left to run, and took LPN Sands off the full-time day shift, relegating her to on-call status. 12 Sands was placed third on the on-call list, behind two employees, LPN Rosemary Stretch (a part-time employee who had been designated as temporary on past work schedules) and Paula Rentfro, both of whom had less seniority. 13 Nursing Director Joyce Turpin had previously told Sands that she could work full-time on the day shift and that Stretch would work any shifts left over on an on-call basis. Prior to August 10, Stretch had been on on-call status. 47 Upon learning that a new schedule had been posted, Sands contacted Assistant Nursing Director Kendra White. White told Sands that she had been placed on on-call status for financial reasons, and that Stretch and Rentfro would be called in ahead of her because of their seniority as measured by the dates they were last rehired by the Home. When Sands protested that she, in fact, had greater seniority than both women, White suggested that she speak to Nursing Director Turpin. Sands responded that she did not wish to speak to Turpin because she had lied during her testimony at the August 2 Board hearing. White replied, Look, we didn't ask for this. 48 Under the August 10 schedule, LPN Bly was shifted from full-time to fourth position on the on-call list, behind Sands. When asked by Bly why she had been moved, Director Turpin said only that she had used rehiring dates to establish the order on the on-call list. When Bly mentioned that she was a full-time employee while Stretch only worked part-time, Turpin responded, That's just the way I'm doing it. 49 The Board determined that the Home unlawfully discriminated against Sands and Bly by removing them from their full-time day shifts and placing them on on-call status, in violation of Sec. 158(a)(1), (3), and (4). 14 The Home argues that any schedule change relating to both employees was due to the economic facts of life. According to the Home, the shift changes were necessitated by the Home's financial problems, not anti-union animus, and the reduced time period covered by the new schedule (two weeks instead of the usual thirty days) was a response to problems created by employees who were scheduled but did not show up for work. 50 As support for its argument, the Home points out that staff reductions began in 1990 prior to the advent of the union campaign, and that changes in the nursing department had been delayed until the late summer because the Home was engaged in the process of bringing its nursing department policies, schedules, and employment levels into line with state and federal regulations. The changes instituted on August 10, the Home insists, were for the purpose of allowing it to review its work schedule and to reduce overhead. Moreover, the scheduling changes affected many employees alike, regardless of union sympathies; some union adherents were not subject to any changes whatsoever. 51 We conclude that the Board had a sufficient basis for finding that the Home violated Sands's rights under Sec. 157. In determining whether an employer acts unlawfully, the Board may properly rely on such factors as the employer's knowledge of union activity, manifestations of anti-union animus, suspicious timing, and departures from past practice. Rich's Precision Foundry, 667 F.2d at 625. With respect to the Home's treatment of Sands, there was evidence of each of these factors to demonstrate anti-union motivation. Prior to the August 1990 posting, the Home had scheduled nurses on a monthly basis for several years. The new schedule replaced one with two weeks left to run, and placed Sands behind two part-time employees. This move contradicted the apparent policy of the Home to give preference to permanent or full-time employees over temporary ones in matters such as scheduling, shift assignments, and staff reductions. 15 Accordingly, the Board could reject the Home's argument that seniority was determined solely by the last date of hire, without regard to full or part-time status. 52 The Home makes much of its financial problems during the summer and fall of 1990, arguing that sustained losses resulted in its sale to another organization in June 1991. However, the Home does not explain how its monthly losses are related to the August 10 scheduling changes. As the Board noted, the Home's monthly losses went from a high of $32,759 in November 1989 to lows of $3,277 in April 1990 and $3,457 in June 1990. In its brief to this court, the Home gives loss figures for December 1990, and January and February of 1991. No figures are given for July, August, or September 1990 that might lend credence to the argument that the scheduling changes introduced on August 10 were motivated by business concerns. The failure of an employer to produce relevant evidence particularly within its control allows the Board to draw an adverse inference that such evidence would not be favorable to it. See NLRB v. Dorothy Shamrock Coal Company, 833 F.2d 1263, 1269 (7th Cir.1987). Certainly, in the absence of such evidence, the Board was entitled to reject the Home's proffered justification for its actions. The Board found that the Home's business justifications for the actions taken against Sands were pretextual, and substantial evidence supports that conclusion. 16 53 Evidence of the Home's unlawful treatment of Bly is not as strong as the evidence with respect to Sands, but we find it is sufficient to support the Board's findings. The Board determined that Bly's removal from the full-time shift was intended by the Home to punish Sands. As the Board characterized it, Bly was a casualty in [the Home's] war against Sands. 17 Regardless of whether Bly's fate was part of plan by the Home to conceal its discriminatory treatment of Sands, we find there is substantial evidence to support the finding that Bly's removal from her full-time position, only to be replaced by a temporary employee, violated her rights under Sec. 157 of the NLRA. As discussed, the Board properly rejected as unpersuasive the Home's business justifications for any scheduling changes, and the record reflects that, once placed on on-call status, Bly received few telephone calls to work, and these either came at the last minute or consisted of messages to call back in five minutes or forget it. This evidence is adequate to sustain the Board's finding that the Home's treatment of Bly violated Sec. 158(a)(1) and (3). 54