Court Opinion

ID: 9467707
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 01:54:23.289571+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:40:28.718891
License: Public Domain

WILLIAM E. DOYLE, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent:
The controversy here revolves around a handbook prepared by the Company and distributed to new employees. It was a twenty-one page pamphlet. Under the heading Personal Conduct the handbook set forth rules of employee conduct on Company property. It stated that violation of such rules could subject offenders to termination. One such rule prohibited “distribution of unauthorized leaflets, papers or other materials during working hours on Company property.” Under the heading Solicitations another rule stated “solicitations, collections and circulation of petitions of any nature frequently result in misunderstanding. To avoid this possibility only the recognized solicitations for charitable organizations and similar activities specifically approved by the Company will be permitted during working hours.” Still another rule prohibited “distribution of unauthorized leaflets, papers or other materials during working hours on Company property.”
These rules made it clear that solicitations were not favored by the Company, and the term “working hours” tends to mean all of the period from eight to five, for example. This leaves no room for construction.
THE DECISION
The Regional Director concluded that in the circumstances described that the extrinsic evidence presented by management did not overcome the force or effect of such written rules. Notwithstanding the fact that the employer presented evidence that approximately four of the employers were advised that solicitation and distribution in violation of the written rules were permitted, such rules remained in the handbook and there was no notice given to all employees that such rules had in any way been modified or rescinded. Thus, the Regional Director concluded that such rules permitting only authorized approved solicitations and distributions during working hours constituted the basis upon which the election should be set aside. The solicitations authorized were those which pertain to charitable drives, etc.
The Board adopted the Regional Director’s conclusion on the basis that it was *698supported on the record as a whole. The question is whether there is substantial evidence in the record considered as a whole to support the Board’s finding.
We cannot, of course, consider issues of fact on a de novo basis and choose between conflicting inferences even though we might arrive at a different conclusion. Such a choice is not ours to exercise. Ann Lee Sportswear, Inc. v. NLRB, 543 F.2d 739 (10th Cir.. 1976); NLRB v. Tennessee Packers, Inc., Frosty Morn Division, 379 F.2d 172, 180 (6th Cir. 1967).
The Board in this case determined that since both the no-distribution, no-solicitation rules of American Safety Equipment Corp. prohibited those activities during working hours, rather than working time, that the employees of the corporation had been denied the laboratory conditions essential to a fair representation election. American Safety Equipment Corp., 234 NLRB 501, 1978 CCH NLRB p. 31, 427-8. See also Tennessee Packers, supra, 379 F.2d at 180. The majority opinion would have, this court hold that the Board’s ruling constitutes an abuse of discretion, in that the Board’s decision is not supported by substantial evidence in the record as a whole.
WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF THE RULES ON THE ELECTION?
We must note at the outset that the standards for determining whether an employer has engaged in conduct which interferes with the employees’ rights to a non-coercive electoral atmosphere are not as demanding as the standards for determining whether an employer has engaged in an unfair labor practice. As the court stated in NLRB v. Tennessee Packers, Inc., supra, “[i]t is not necessary that conduct which interferes with the freedom of choice in an election actually constitute an unfair labor practice.” See in addition, Hedstrom Co. v. NLRB, 558 F.2d 1137, 1151, n. 36 (3rd Cir. 1977) App. 629 F.2d 305 (3rd Cir. 1980); Independent, Inc. v. NLRB, 406 F.2d 203, 207-8 (5th Cir. 1969); NLRB v. Shirlington Supermarket, 224 F.2d 649, 652-3 (4th Cir. 1955), cert. denied, 350 U.S. 914, 76 S.Ct. 198, 100 L.Ed. 801 (1955).
There are indeed a number of cases which hold that a presumptively invalid no-solicitation rule does not constitute an unfair labor practice in the absence of a showing that the rule was applied in an invalid manner. However, we do not have a question of unfair labor practice here. Here we are facing the issue of whether no-solicitation/no-distribution rules constituted a violation which was sufficient to void an election which the Union lost, and as a result of which the employees of American Safety Equipment Corp. were not represented by any Union. In order for the Board to find that the laboratory conditions necessary for a fair representation election were not present, it is not, we repeat, necessary that it be shown that the rules were definitely applied in an invalid manner, and thus that the employer committed an unfair labor practice.
It is the duty of the Board to draw the inferences from the facts presented and determine whether the employees’ organizational rights had been interfered with so that laboratory conditions were not present at the time of the representation election. In this case the Board determined that since both rules were couched in the same terms, the logical conclusion which could have been reached by the employees of American Safety Equipment Corp. was that solicitation and distribution were banned at all times. In addition, although the Regional Director recognized that four of the company’s employees had been advised that solicitation and distribution in violation of the written rules were permitted, the Director noted further that these rules remained the same, and that no notice was given to all of the employees-at-large that the rules had been modified or rescinded. The company had no general policy of discussing or explaining the rules in pre-hire interviews, and it did not, officially or otherwise, notify its large employee force as a whole that the rules were to be applied in a manner inconsistent with their language.
There was some evidence given by the Company that the new employees were told *699that the noon hour, for example, was theirs alone, but the Company didn’t tell them that in relationship to whether or not there could be solicitation or as to whether or not the rules pertaining to solicitation applied. Those rules were written so that they were final and, indeed, the rules threatened termination in fact.
The four employees to whom the Company revealed that the no-solicitation rules were not applicable were actually management level employees. There is no evidence that they communicated this to employees interested in joining the Union. Therefore, I cannot see any basis for this court accepting their testimony over the strong inferences which are to be drawn from the circumstances surrounding the existence of these rules having to do with solicitation.
In the case of Allis Chalmers Corp., 224 NLRB 1199 (1976), the Board held that the Company’s no-solicitation rule constituted an unfair labor practice. In that case there was evidence that no one had ever been replaced for soliciting, that the rule had never been enforced except against an isolated vendor, and the employees did engage in Union solicitation during their break and meal periods. However, the rule was posted during the Union’s organization drive and management did not explain to the employees that the rule was not applicable to break and meal periods. The court held that the rule violated the National Labor Relations Act even though a later rule restricted the solicitation ban to working time, because the change was not explained to the employees. If the rule in Allis Chalmers is an unfair labor practice, it is clear that the Board did not abuse its discretion in holding in the case at bar that several rules constitutes sufficient grounds to set aside the election. See also, Bandag, Inc. v. NLRB, 583 F.2d 765 (5th Cir. 1978); L.O.F. Glass, Inc., 216 NLRB 845 (1975).
In the Board’s decision in Flat River Glass Co., 234 NLRB 200, 1978 CCH NLRB p. 31, 651, its holding was that the mere existence of an invalid no-solicitation rule was not sufficient justification for overturning a representation election, but in that case two unions were competing in an election. The Board refused to set the election aside due to the fact that the employer had an invalid no-solicitation rule because there was a lack of evidence that this unlawful rule was applied in a disparate manner to the two competing unions. Thus Flat River is distinguishable from our case which involved only one union, and an effort on its part to get recognition.
In Essex International, Inc., 211 NLRB 749,1978 CCH NLRB p. 34,563, the Company had three rules which discussed solicitation and distribution. Two of these prohibited solicitation for any cause or distribution of literature during working time. Only one rule prohibited distribution of literature during working hours. The Board decided the employer had made a sufficient showing to rebut the prima facie presumption from the rules' invalidity, and stated:
It is arguable that the no distribution rule, standing alone, is invalid because of its prohibition of distribution during “working hours.” However, after considering that rule, together with the Employers’ no solicitation rule referring to “working time” and the separate section on Solicitations, which sets forth the Employers’ rule against distribution during working time, we are unable to conclude that employees would consider the single reference to working hours to mean something other than working time.
Thus in Essex there was mitigating material. The Board also stated that the employer should be allowed to rebut the presumption of the rules’ invalidity by presenting extrinsic evidence showing that the rule had not been applied in a manner such as to interfere with the employees’ organizational rights. However, the important thing was that the Board relied on the fact that two of three rules used the term “working time” in reaching its decision that the election should not be set aside. The instant case is distinguishable in that both rules used the term “working hours.” Hence potential members of the Union could not get any consolation from either of the rules.
*700The majority opinion appears to rely on the Regional Director’s statement in his findings that in enforcing the no-solicitation, no-distribution rules the company had not engaged in conduct which would provide a basis for setting aside the election. That statement is cited in support of the majority’s position that there were no grounds upon which to set aside the election. However, the Regional Director was referring to specific allegations of'misconduct presented by the Union, which the Regional Director held to be unfounded. The Regional Director specifically stated that in the circumstances presented there was no evidence of misconduct. This is not to say, however, that the rules themselves were valid, or that the rules themselves were not grounds for drawing inferences in support of the judgment setting aside the election. The Director found that the rules were invalid and supported the voiding of the election.
The effect of the majority opinion would be to place a burden on the employees, or the Union, to show that the rules were applied to mean “working hours” rather than “working time.” The burden of proof is not with the Union, however, but with the employer. The fact remains that the rules prohibited solicitation and distribution during “working hours” and, as such, were presumptively invalid. It was, therefore, the burden of the employer, American Safety Equipment Corporation, to rebut that presumption. Essex, supra.
The Regional Director determined in this case that American Safety had not met its burden of overcoming the coercive effect of its written rules. Thus the Director placed the burden where it belonged: on the employer in these conditions.
The Board decided that the evidence that the four employees, three of whom held supervisory positions and one of whom was a personal secretary, believed that the rules were to be applied to mean working time rather than working hours was not sufficient to rebut the prima facie inference of the rules’ invalidity. This court should not disturb the Board’s ruling and choose its own conclusion.
In the case of Groendyke Transport, Inc. v. NLRB, supra, we stated that in order to find that a presumptively invalid no-solicitation or no-distribution rule is valid, the employer must prove unusual circumstances justifying the rule. See 530 F.2d at 141. Thus we are not empowered to set aside the Board’s finding and conclude on our own that the fact that the four mentioned employees believed the rules were applied to mean working time is sufficient to establish that the rules were harmless. Nor is it possible for us to shift the burden from the employer to rebut the presumption of the rules’ invalidity — to the.Union to show that the rule was applied in a manner to interfere . with the employees’ organization rights. Rules of this nature tell a conclusive story. Hence they are presumed to interfere with the employees’ organizational rights. It is up to the employer to show otherwise.
In Ann Lee Sportswear, Inc. v. NLRB, supra, 543 F.2d at 742, this court said, “that it should only interfere with the Board’s findings in the rare instance when the standard [regarding substantial evidence] appears to have been misapprehended or grossly misapplied.”.
The fact that both of the rules used the term “working hours” and a resultant restricted meaning existed is bolstered by the fact that there is still another rule prohibiting the soliciting generally and a warning against it. Inasmuch as both of the rules used the term “working hours” and the employees-at-large were not notified that any different meaning or interpretation was intended, the evidence supporting the Board’s decision to set aside the election because laboratory conditions were not present surely meets the substantial evidence test inasmuch as it constitutes more than a mere scintilla and connotes such relevant evidence to support a conclusion.
Accordingly the decision of the National Labor Relations Board to set aside the first representation election should be affirmed. Therefore, this court should consider the merits of appellants’ second and third issues of this appeal.
*701The majority opinion would place the burden on the employees or the Union to show the rules were applied to mean “working hours” rather than “working time.” The burden of proof is not with the Union, however, but with the employer.
For the reasons stated, I would enforce the Board’s order.