Opinion ID: 186589
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Fourth Rationale Under Wright Line's First Prong

Text: 45 In its brief and at oral argument, counsel for the Board, apparently recognizing that the Board's decision was fragile in its analysis of the first prong of Wright Line, argued that the Board had implicitly relied upon a fourth reason to show that antiunion animus was a motivating factor in the Company's discharge of Hydorn: his disparate treatment in comparison to nonstrikers who had committed similar or more egregious acts of insubordination. See Br. of NLRB at 25-29; Recording of Oral Argument at 20:43. It is true that the Board found that 46 the General Counsel has produced significant evidence of disparate treatment. Based on Respondent's personnel records, the General Counsel has shown that between February, 1997 and November 1999, Respondent disciplined 37 nonstrikers for insubordination less harshly than Hydorn. In 20 of those 37 instances, the Respondent only issued a warning to the offending employee, while in the remaining cases the employees were disciplined with suspensions. We agree with the judge that the evidence in this case shows that the Respondent had a relatively lax attitude towards insubordination by non-strikers, even those who defied multiple direct orders or had been insubordinate on prior occasions. 47 Detroit News, 2004 WL 2203014, at  (quoting Decision, slip op. at 12, J.A. 16). The Board argues in its brief that this finding clearly supports the Board's conclusion that antiunion animus was a motivating factor in Hydorn's discharge. See Br. for NLRB at 29. 48 The problem with this argument is that the Board's analysis of the alleged disparate treatment comes under the section of its decision dealing with the second prong of the Wright Line test, not in the section addressing whether the General Counsel met its burden of proving that the employee's protected conduct was a motivating factor in the employer's decision. In other words, the Board's sole references to the alleged disparate treatment appear when the Board discusses whether the employer met its burden to demonstrate that the same disciplinary action would have taken place even in the absence of Hydorn's protected conduct. 49 Thus, at least as written, the Board's decision does not present substantial evidence to support the conclusion that Hydorn's protected conduct was a motivating factor in his discharge. Rather, it appears that Hydorn was dismissed for insubordination. In this circumstance, we would normally reverse the Board's decision, because the reasons given by the Board do not support the result reached. And we must accept the Board's decision on it own terms, ignoring post-hoc rationalizations by counsel and rejecting the temptation to supply reasons to support the Board's decision that the Board itself has not offered. See SEC v. Chenery Corp., 318 U.S. 80, 89-90, 63 S.Ct. 454, 87 L.Ed. 626 (1943). Two things give us pause, however. 50 First, at the beginning of its decision, the Board summarizes the applicable law, as follows: 51 The elements the Board considers when determining whether an employer's conduct was discriminatorily motivated are generally the alleged discriminatee's protected activity, employer knowledge of that activity, and union animus. . . . Under certain circumstances the Board will infer animus in the absence of direct evidence. That finding may be inferred from the record as a whole. The Board has further stated that evidence of a blatant disparity is sufficient to support a prima facie case of discrimination. 52 Detroit News, 2004 WL 2203014, at  (internal citations and quotation marks omitted) (emphasis added). Although the Board did not explicitly cite any blatant disparity as one of the factors showing that the employer acted pursuant to unlawful motivation in dismissing Hydorn, it is nonetheless clear that the Board recognized that disparate treatment in disciplinary actions might be a factor. 53 Second, in the latter half of the decision, dealing with the second prong of Wright Line (and the employer's burden of proof), the Board found that  the General Counsel has produced significant evidence of disparate treatment.  Id. at  (emphasis added). It is unclear what to make of this, and it is certainly hard to fathom why the Board failed to make this same point in its analysis of the first prong of Wright Line. Poor draftsmanship or inadvertence are possible explanations. It is also possible that the Board made a tactical decision to leave the discussion of disparate treatment until the second half of the Wright Line analysis because, of all its arguments, it is the most pertinent to the Company's affirmative defense. Whatever the reason, the Board misfired, and its analysis as currently constituted is not sufficiently clear to allow for meaningful review. 54 Because we do not know what to make of the Board's decision, we remand the case for clarification and further consideration. On remand, the Board must first explain whether the evidence suggesting disparate treatment in discipline is among the factors that the Board meant to consider in concluding that the General Counsel met its burden of demonstrating that antiunion animus was a motivating factor in the Company's discharge of Hydorn. In particular, the Board must explain how this evidence satisfies the burden that the General Counsel carries. Second, if the Board meant to include disparate treatment in discipline in analyzing the first prong of Wright Line, the Board must consider whether it would still reach the same result in light of this court's holding that its other three findings are not supported by substantial evidence. We express no opinion on the substantive validity of the Board's findings on disparate treatment. The Board may amplify the point as necessary on remand. 55 We offer no judgment on the correct result in this case. The Board must make this determination in the first instance on remand. We do note, however, that the Board may, if appropriate, change its judgment on reconsideration and dismiss the unfair labor practice charges.