Sweetwater Crafts

SWEETWATER CRAFTS Sweetwater Crafts, Inc. and United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO. Case 7-CA-29121 May 8, 1992 DECISION AND ORDER BY CHAIRMAN STEPHENS AND MEMBERS DEVANEY AND OVIATT On September 28, 1990, the National Labor Relations Board issued a Decision and Order ordering Sweetwater Crafts, Inc., the Respondent, to, inter alia, make whole certain of its unit employees for loss of earnings resulting from the Respondent's refusal to recall them from layoff in violation of Section 8(a)(1), (3), and (4) of the National Labor Relations Act.¹ On April 24, 1991, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit entered a judgment enforcing the Board's Order. A controversy having thereafter arisen over the amount of backpay due the discriminatees, on December 27, 1991, the Regional Director for Region 7 issued a compliance specification and notice of hearing alleging the amount due under the Board's Order, and notifying the Respondent that it should file a timely answer complying with the Board's Rules and Regulations. Although properly served with a copy of the compliance specification, the Respondent has failed to file an answer. By letter dated February 6, 1992, the Regional attorney advised the Respondent that no answer to the compliance specification had been received and that unless an appropriate answer was filed by February 14, 1992, a Motion for Default Judgment would be filed with the Board. The Respondent did not file an answer. On April 6, 1992, the General Counsel filed with the Board a Motion to Transfer Case to the Board and for Default Judgment, with exhibits attached. On April 8, 1992, the Board issued an order transferring the proceeding to the Board and a Notice to Show Cause why the motion should not be granted. The Respondent filed no response. The allegations in the motion and in the compliance specification are therefore undisputed. The National Labor Relations Board has delegated its authority in this proceeding to a threemember panel. Ruling on the Motion for Summary Judgment Section 102.56(a) of the Board's Rules and Regulations provides that the Respondent shall file an answer within 21 days from service of a compliance specification. Section 102.56(c) of the Board's Rules and Regulations states: If the respondent fails to file any answer to the specification within the time prescribed by this section, the Board may, either with or without taking evidence in support of the allegations of the specification and without further notice to the respondent, find the specification to be true and enter such order as may be appropriate. According to the uncontroverted allegations of the Motion for Summary Judgment, the Respondent, despite having been advised of the filing requirements, has failed to file an answer to the compliance specification. In the absence of good cause for the Respondent's failure to file an answer, we deem the allegations in the compliance specification to be admitted as true, and grant the General Counsel's Motion for Summary Judgment. Accordingly, we conclude that the net backpay due the discriminatees is as stated in the compliance specification and we will order payment by the Respondent to the discriminatees. ORDER The National Labor Relations Board orders that the Respondent, Sweetwater Crafts, Inc., Manistee, Michigan, its officers, agents, successors, and assigns, shall make whole the individuals named below, by paying them the amounts following their names, with interest to be computed in the manner prescribed in New Horizons for the Retarded, 283 NLRB 1173 (1987), minus tax withholdings required by Federal and state laws: 1 300 NLRB No. 3. Richard Schimke $16,985.35 Michael Robke $13,380.34 307 NLRB No. 77