Opinion ID: 717462
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Redacted Employee Declarations

Text: 16 Car Wash also contends that the Board abused its discretion by refusing to admit into evidence the declarations of Car Wash's employees with all identifying information redacted. In excluding the declarations, the hearing officer relied upon Rule 102.66(a), which provides in relevant part that [w]itnesses shall be examined orally under oath. That construction accords with Board precedent expressing a strong preference for live oral testimony. See, e.g., Waterbed World, 301 N.L.R.B. No. 82 (1991) (affidavits are not admissible in lieu of testimony unless the witness is either deceased or so seriously ill that accepting the oral testimony poses a threat to the health of the witness (citations omitted)), enf'd by NLRB v. Omnix Intern. Corp., 974 F.2d 1329 (1st Cir.1992). The Board's interpretation is also a permissible one in light of the facts of this case, even though Car Wash was left with no admissible evidence as a result. As with its proposal for an attorneys-eyes-only hearing, Car Wash focused its request to admit redacted declarations on the need to keep secret the identities of witnesses who testified against the union. Reviewing the Board's rejection of this proposal, though, is an easier call than evaluating its decision on the attorneys-eyes-only hearing. Not only would the identities of witnesses remain undisclosed to the union officials themselves if the redacted declarations were admitted, they would be kept secret from union attorneys. Moreover, the hearing officer would be deprived of the manifold benefits that live oral testimony offers in comparison to documentary evidence. Thus, the Board did not abuse its discretion in denying this request. 7 17 Finally, Car Wash contends that the Board's negative decisions on its two requests violated its due process rights. Petitioner has not framed its due process argument with much precision. In its brief to this court, Car Wash appears to contend that the due process clause confers the right to a meaningful hearing prior to government action, so that the Board was required to accept at least one of the two specific proposals Car Wash made to keep secret the identities of employee witnesses. See Petitioner's Brief at 16-20. At oral argument, however, counsel for Car Wash argued that the Board violated its right to a fair hearing by failing to come up with some alternative mechanism to protect the employees, given that it had decided not to adopt either of the two suggestions put forth by Car Wash. Whichever way we consider this objection to the Board's ruling, it does not merit reversal. In determining what procedural safeguards are required before the Board may certify the union, we must weigh the private interest affected by the official action, the risk of an erroneous deprivation under existing procedures and the probable value of additional safeguards, and the government's interest. Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 335, 96 S.Ct. 893, 903, 47 L.Ed.2d 18 (1976). Here, we conclude the Board was not constitutionally required to adopt procedures that concealed the identities of employee witnesses from the accused union officials. By offering to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of witnesses, the Board could presumably fulfill any due process obligation it might have to protect Car Wash's interest in a fair adjudication of its election objections, without the increased risk of an erroneous decision that stems from witness anonymity. The Board's failure in this instance to take any steps on its own to assuage employees' fears or even to further investigate the credibility of counsel's allegations is sufficiently disturbing to make this a close case, but understandable in view of petitioner's rigid position that only a guarantee of witness anonymity would permit the hearing to move forward. In light of that stance, we can understand the Board's reluctance to prod uncooperative parties on both sides of this dispute into an investigation of Car Wash's allegations. 18