Opinion ID: 539798
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Refusal to Hire Milton Suarez

Text: 38 Section 8(a)(3) of the Act, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 158(a)(3), prohibits an employer from discriminating with regard to the hiring or tenure of employees for the purpose of discouraging union membership. The cases which have interpreted and applied this section have made it clear that a successor employer violates this provision when it refuses to hire employees of the predecessor employer because of their union activities. See Howard Johnson Co. v. Detroit Local Joint Exec. Bd., 417 U.S. 249, 262 n. 8, 94 S.Ct. 2236, 2243 n. 8, 41 L.Ed.2d 46 (1974); NLRB v. Burns International Security Services, 406 U.S. 272, 280-281 n. 5, 92 S.Ct. 1571, 1578-1579 n. 5, 32 L.Ed.2d 61 (1972). 39 We need not repeat all the facts relied upon by the able district court. Suffice it to say that the evidence supported a conclusion that Milton Suarez was an active union participant at San Rafael, and made his union activities known to officials at HIMA. Although Turabo contended that it did not extend an employment offer to Suarez because of his excessive absenteeism at San Rafael, the district court was not clearly wrong in concluding that, because the personnel records of other employees who were hired by Turabo evidence similar absenteeism, there was reasonable cause to believe that Turabo's proffered reasons for not hiring Suarez were merely pretextual. See D'Youville Manor Nursing Home v. NLRB, 526 F.2d 3 (1st Cir.1975). The fact that other union supporters were hired at HIMA does not negate the discrimination claim. 40 Given these circumstances, the district court was not clearly wrong in concluding that the Regional Director's claims that unfair labor practices had been committed were supported by reasonable cause.