Opinion ID: 412704
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Warning

Text: 18 On November 16, 1979, one day after she appeared at the representation hearing, the Company issued a written warning notice to Anenburn. She was cited for arriving late to work on various dates between September 22, 1979 and November 3, 1979. See J.App. at 329. Anenburn testified at the NLRB hearing that she had received oral permission to arrive late on the days cited in the warning. She also stated that the Company had never before issued a warning to her and further that management had complimented her on several occasions for her exemplary work. 19 The ALJ found that Ms. Anenburn had testified credibly when relating the events that precipitated her warning notice. He also noted that Anenburn had never previously been cited for tardiness. The ALJ found the timing of the Company's decision to issue a warning notice to be especially troubling. He questioned why management would have waited until one day after Ms. Anenburn had appeared at a Board representation hearing to cite her for instances of tardiness that occurred in most cases one month prior to the citation. 7 20 There is substantial evidence to support the ALJ's finding here, as adopted by the Board. See Universal Camera Corp. v. NLRB, 340 U.S. at 488, 71 S.Ct. at 464; United Aircraft Corp. v. NLRB, 440 F.2d at 91. Nothing in the record suggests that Ms. Anenburn's testimony was hopelessly incredible or that it flatly contradicted the laws of nature. NLRB v. Columbia University, 541 F.2d at 928. The ALJ also properly considered the timing of management's decision to issue the disputed warning. An inference of anti-union animus is proper when the timing of the employer's actions is stunningly obvious. NLRB v. Long Island Airport Limousine Service Corp., 468 F.2d 292, 295 (2d Cir.1972) (quoting NLRB v. Rubin, 424 F.2d 748, 750 (2d Cir.1970); see NLRB v. Advanced Business Forms Corp., 474 F.2d 457, 465 (2d Cir.1973) (timing and abruptness of discharge are persuasive evidence of motivation). The Company did not explain persuasively the reasons why it chose to wait until November 16, 1979 to issue the warning notice, see Grandee Beer Distributors, Inc. v. NLRB, 630 F.2d 928, 932 (2d Cir.1980); NLRB v. Styletek, 520 F.2d 275 (1st Cir.1975), and did not convincingly discredit Anenburn's testimony. The evidentiary record supports the findings of the ALJ on this issue.