Opinion ID: 412704
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Denial of Vacation Leave

Text: 21 On October 19, 1979 Ms. Anenburn requested two weeks vacation leave, to commence on December 29, 1979. She planned to be married during that vacation and had expected to use the remainder of her leave to take a honeymoon. Anenburn testified that Ms. June Stuart, the In-Service Instructor, had orally assured her that the vacation request would be granted. Further testimony revealed that Director Milano, the Company's most senior representative at the Avraham facility, knew as early as November 7, 1979 that Anenburn expected to be married during her December vacation. In fact, Juanita Palma, the Assistant Director of Nursing at the Avraham Home, testified at the administrative proceeding that Director Milano stated to her: She said she was not going to give her [Anenburn] the time off and she wants her out. See J.App. at 12. 22 Anenburn's request for vacation leave was denied on November 17, 1979, one day after she was issued the warning notice and two days after she had appeared at the representation hearing before the Board. The ALJ found that management's refusal to grant Anenburn's request for vacation leave constituted another step in the harassment of Anenburn for her union related activities. In re American Geri-Care, Inc., NLRB, JD-(NY)-57-81, at 5 (June 15, 1981), reprinted in J.App. at 1, 12. The judge cited the Company for violations of Sections 8(a)(1) and (4) of the Act. 23 Once again, the ALJ's findings were principally based upon determinations of witness credibility. The ALJ credited the testimony of Ms. Palma and Ms. Anenburn and noted that the Company had not persuasively explained why it had waited for more than one month to deny Anenburn's request. These credibility findings accepted by the Board are not hopelessly incredible or irrational. See NLRB v. Columbia University, 541 F.2d at 928; NLRB v. Dinion Coil Co., 201 F.2d at 490. Moreover, the Board properly could infer unlawful motivation from the stunningly obvious timing of management's decision to deny Anenburn's vacation request, see NLRB v. Advanced Business Forms Corp., 474 F.2d at 465; see also NLRB v. Long Island Airport Limousine Service Corp., 468 F.2d at 295, and from the Company's inability to explain persuasively why it decided to deny Ms. Anenburn's request two days after she had appeared at the Board representation hearing. See Grandee Beer Distributors, Inc. v. NLRB, 630 F.2d at 932; NLRB v. Styletek, 520 F.2d at 278. Accordingly, we conclude that the ALJ's decision, as adopted by the Board, to cite the Company for violations of Sections 8(a)(1) and (4) is supported by substantial evidence.