Court Opinion

ID: 9481628
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 08:26:28.143659+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:48:28.309818
License: Public Domain

LOKEN, Circuit Judge, concurring.
Bearing in mind the purpose underlying the “supervisor” exception in § 2(3) of the Act, as well as the statutory definition of “supervisor” in § 2(11), I believe that the Board’s Acting Regional Director was on sound ground in concluding that the LPNs at issue in this case are “supervisors.” As the Sixth Circuit succinctly stated in denying enforcement of a comparable Board order in N.L.R.B. v. Beacon Light Christian Nursing Home, 825 F.2d 1076, 1080 (6th Cir.1987):
If the LPN’s were not supervisors, then 15 to 30 nursing personnel frequently were providing patient care with no on-site supervision. This is not a reasonable conclusion for a well-run nursing home, and there is no substantial evidence to support it.
The Board’s stated reasons for rejecting the Acting Regional Director’s decision in this case, though effectively marshalled in Judge McMillian’s opinion, do not persuade me and seem to reflect a pattern of inconsistent Board decisions on this issue that several courts have noted. See, e.g., N.L.R.B. v. St. Mary’s Home, 690 F.2d 1062, 1067 (4th Cir.1982); Misericordia Hosp. Medical Center v. N.L.R.B., 623 F.2d 808, 818 n. 21 (2d Cir.1980). Still, the Board’s decision does do a credible job of applying the relevant statutory factors to the facts of this case and of attempting to harmonize at least many of its prior decisions on this issue.
This is obviously a close case. Since the Board has engaged in neither unsupported fact-finding nor arbitrary decision-making, I agree with those reviewing courts that have concluded that the Board’s order in a close case of this nature should be enforced. See N.L.R.B. v. Res-Care, Inc., 705 F.2d 1461, 1468 (7th Cir.1983); Misericordia Hosp. Medical Center, 623 F.2d at 818; N.L.R.B. v. St. Francis Hosp., 601 F.2d 404, 422 (9th Cir.1979). Solely for this reason, I concur.