Opinion ID: 601539
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Drug Testing, Suspension, and Disciplining of Sutton

Text: 23 Almet violated sections 8(a)(1) and (3) of the Act when it conditioned Sutton's employment on his submission to a drug test, suspended Sutton for three days, and gave him a disciplinary warning because of two incidents occurring on November 9, 1987. The ALJ found that Almet had knowledge of Sutton's union activities by November 9 when the incidents occurred. The ALJ also found that both complained of incidents were trivial and did not justify Almet's actions. The ALJ therefore concluded that Almet treated Sutton the way it did as part of a transparent ploy to harass Sutton, a known or suspected union organizer, in an attempt to show that [Almet] was capable of manufacturing pretexts to rid itself of union activists such as [Sutton], and to dissuade him from continuing his organizational activities. The Board adopted the ALJ's findings and conclusion. 24 Substantial evidence in the record supports the ALJ's finding that Almet, or Greim and Winkeljohn, had notice of Sutton's efforts on behalf of the Union. Winkeljohn admitted that by November 9, 1987, he had heard rumors or scuttlebutt that an organizing campaign was underway at the plant. The record reflects that it was common knowledge among the employees which employees were working for union representation, and that some employees may have told members of management who they were. There was also testimony that the night shift was eliminated as of November 9 because of the number of union organizers working that shift, including Sutton. Furthermore, Sutton was a known union organizer in the union campaign of 1985 at Almet. 25 What exactly Sutton did on top of the beam on November 9, 1987, whether he skipped or hopped is only important if it was a legitimate basis, along with the forklift episode, for Almet's actions taken against Sutton. See NLRB v. Transportation Management Corp., 462 U.S. 393, 400-01, 103 S.Ct. 2469, 2473-74, 76 L.Ed.2d 667 (1983); Northern Wire Corp. v. NLRB, 887 F.2d 1313, 1318 (7th Cir.1989). Even if we believe that both of these episodes qualified as unsafe behavior, we cannot say that the ALJ was wrong, and the Board accepted his finding, in concluding the incidents were trivial and did not warrant the response they caused. The ALJ strongly objected to Almet's claim that Sutton's behavior was bizarre and stated that [t]here are almost 300 volumes of Board cases, each volume containing descriptions of incidents of horseplay far more bizarre than the two incidents in which Sutton had engaged. The ALJ's experience in this area is convincing, as well as the fact that never before had Almet required an employee to take a drug test (not even the employee who was arrested on drug charges in October 1987 though discharged in December 1987). See So-White Freight Lines, Inc., 969 F.2d at 408. Nor had Almet similarly disciplined or suspended any other employee for equally reckless or careless behavior. See Advance Transp. Co., 979 F.2d at 574-75. Furthermore, Almet cannot escape the logical argument that if Sutton's behavior was so unsafe, why was he not cautioned at the time when he skipped or drove too fast? Either Greim or Winkeljohn observed the incidents, and yet neither of them felt compelled to do or say anything to Sutton when he acted.