Opinion ID: 468822
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: May 5 Oral Warning.

Text: 16 On May 5, Evans's supervisor issued an oral warning to Evans that his work performance was slipping. The supervisor noted that he had received complaints of supply shortages on Evans's work line. Evans acknowledged a shortage of supplies, but asserted five reasons for the shortage: 1) he had assumed the responsibilities of another employee, 2) the Company had implemented a time-consuming system of requiring supervisory signatures on requisitions for items, 3) his supervisor often delayed for days before signing his requisitions, 4) the warehouse delayed in getting parts to him, 5) and he was denied overtime work despite the fact that the line he was supplying was working overtime. The ALJ found that the Company had not violated the Act by giving this oral warning. He credited testimony that Evans was performing his function with less enthusiasm than he had shown before he became involved in Union activities. 17 The Board reversed this finding, relying on the Wright Line test. It found that the General Counsel had made a prima facie showing that Evans was disciplined for engaging in protected conduct. The Board next found that the Company had not met its burden of demonstrating that it would have disciplined Evans absent his union activity. The Board rejected the ALJ's conclusion that Evans was responsible for the supply shortage, and placed great weight on the reasons Evans gave for the shortage. 18 The Company contends that the Board's findings are against the weight of the evidence. The Board, in response, points out that we must enforce its findings if there is substantial evidence on the record as a whole to support its findings, and that we may not displace the Board's choice between two fairly conflicting views, even though the court would justifiably have made a different choice had the matter been before it de novo. Universal Camera Corp. v. Labor Bd., 340 U.S. 474, 488, 71 S.Ct. 456, 465, 95 L.Ed. 456 (1951). The Board also notes that in applying the employer-motivation prong of the Wright Line test, intent is subjective and in many cases the discrimination can be proven only by the use of circumstantial evidence[;] in analyzing the evidence, circumstantial or direct, the Board is free to draw any reasonable inference. NLRB v. Melrose Processing Co., 351 F.2d 693, 698 (8th Cir.1965). 19 Applying these standards, we have no difficulty in affirming the Board's finding that the May 5 warning was motivated by anti-union animus. The more difficult question is whether, under Wright Line, the May 5 warning would have issued absent Evans's union activity. The Board points to the following evidence in support of its finding that it would not have: The Company instituted new time-consuming procedures (which it abandoned shortly after Evans was fired), assigned additional duties to Evans, and refused to allow him overtime, although it had done so before the union campaign, to cause him to fall behind in his work so the Company would have a reason to fire him and thus reduce the chance that the plant would be unionized. We believe that these findings are supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole and are sufficient to justify the Board's finding of a violation of section 8(a)(1) of the Act. 20