Barberton Manor

DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Americana Health Care Corporation of Ohio d/b/a Barberton Manor and United Food and Com- mercial Workers Union, Local 698, AFL-CIO. Case 8-CA-13099 September 26, 1980 DECISION AND ORDER BY CHAIRMAN FANNING AND MEMBERS JENKINS AND PENELLO On July 8, 1980, Administrative Law Judge Frank Itkin issued the attached Decision in this proceeding. Thereafter, Respondent filed excep- tions and a supporting brief. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na- tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au- thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel. The Board has considered the record and the at- tached Decision in light of the exceptions and brief and has decided to affirm the rulings, findings,' and conclusions2 of the Administrative Law Judge and to adopt his recommended Order. 3 ORDER Pursuant to Section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the National Labor Re- lations Board adopts as its Order the recommended Order of the Administrative Law Judge and hereby orders that the Respondent, Americana Health Care Corporation of Ohio d/b/a Barberton Manor, Akron, Ohio, its officers, agents, succes- sors, and assigns, shall take the action set forth in the said recommended Order. I Respondent has excepted to certain credibility findings made by the Administrative Law Judge. It is the Board's established policy not to overrule an administrative law judge's resolutions with respect to credi- bility unless the clear preponderance of all of the relevant evidence con- vinces us that the resolutions are incorrect. Standard Dry Wall Products. Inc., 91 NLRB 544 (1950), enfd. 188 F.2d 362 (3d Cir 1951). We have carefully examined the record and find no basis for reversing his findings. Member Jenkins agrees with the Administrative Law Judge's conclu- sion that Respondent violated Sec. 8(a)(l) of the Act by soliciting and remedying grievances to discourage union activity, but finds it unneces- sary to rely on Litton Dental Products, 221 NLRB 700 (1975). a Our ordering Respondent to cease and desist from remedying griev- ances should not be interpreted to mean that the statuv quo ante may law- fully be restored with respect to grievances that have been remedied. In accordance with his partial dissent in Olympic Medical Corporation, 250 NLRB No 11 (1980), Member Jenkins would award interest on the back- pay due based on the formula set forth therein. DECISION FRANK H. ITKIN, Administrative Law Judge: The unfair labor practice charge in this case was filed on August 20 and the complaint' was issued on September 26, 1979. The hearing was conducted in Akron, Ohio, on I The complaint was amended at the hearing to correct the name of Respondent. 252 NLRB No. 57 March 10 and 11, and on April 3, 1980. The General Counsel alleges that Respondent violated Section 8(a)(1) and (3) of the National Labor Relations Act by coercive- ly interrogating employees by soliciting grievances from employees and remedying the grievances,2 and by discri- minatorily discharging employee Elizabeth A. Brown. Respondent denies that it has violated the Act as alleged. Upon the entire record, including my observation of the witnesses, and after due consideration of the briefs of counsel, I make the following: FINDINGS OF FACT Respondent is admittedly an employer engaged in commerce as alleged. Charging Party Union is admitted- ly a labor organization as alleged. The Union filed a peti- tion in Board Case 8-RC-11865 on or about July 26, 1979, seeking to represent a unit including Respondent's nonprofessional employees at its Barberton, Ohio, loca- tion. An election was held on or about August 30, 1979. Respondent filed timely objections to the Union's con- duct and a second election was held as directed on or about November 8, 1979. The Union was certified as bar- gaining agent of the unit employees on or about Novem- ber 16, 1979, and, as stipulated, "the parties are now bar- gaining." The conduct alleged to be unlawful occurred during July and August 1979. The pertinent evidence is summarized below. A. The Interrogation of Employees Employee Elizabeth A. Brown testified that on or about July 25, 1979,3 Supervisor Peggy Bonnett had the following conversation with her and coworker Kathleen Noaker "in front of Peggy Bonnett's office by the time clock": We were going to clock in for a meeting. Peggy had come up and she asked what we had got that Union for. We stated that, well, before we stated that, Kathy [Noaker] told her that she had just broken the law. Peggy said she didn't care and then she went on to talk about it. She [Bonnett] said, why didn't we come back to her and we told her that she wasn't our supervisor. We told her that the Company hadn't done anything for us and that we wanted a Union ..... Steve Plali [assistant admin- istrator] came in, and she [Bonnett] said . . . Steve, why don't you stick up for the Company. Steve just shrugged his shoulders and walked to his office, and Kathy and I went on back into the staff room and waited to go into the meeting. 4 2 The complaint was further amended at the hearing to allege an addi- tional unlawful solicitation of grievances and remedying of same by the Employer. ' Brown's organizational activities commencing about July 19 and her subsequent discharge on August 14, 1979, are discussed below in sec C. Brosvn further testified [Bonnett talked to both of us, but Kathy Noakerl answered her mostly. [Bonnettl said something about, why didn't we get the Teamsters to handle us and Kathy told her that we had tried and that we felt the Retail Clerks could help us. 380 BARBERTON MANOR Kathleen Noaker, employed as a nurses aide, testified that she first became involved with the Union "a little before" July 22, 1979. She explained: "[I]n the first few days we did get the majority signed .... " She further recalled that about July 25 or 26, 1979, there was "a medical records meeting" at Respondent's facility and:Q04 We [Noaker and Brown] were getting ready to clock in for the meeting. .... Peggy [Bonnett) came up to us and just started right in about us get- ting a Union. .... She asked why the hell we picked that Union. I said, Peggy, you know you're breaking the law .... Peggy . . . said she didn't give . . . a damn about the law. She was just very down on this certain Union. Bonnett also stated to the two employees: [W]hy didn't [they] come to her and ask about the Union. [Noaker] said, well, we don't go to a super- visor and ask about a Union. She said, well, you know, you girls can always come to me. [Noaker] said, well yes. A discussion followed as to "why" the employees "didn't get a different" union to represent them. Bonnett "said [that] this Union has been other places . . . but they never helped them . ."S B. The Solicitation of Grievances Dorothy Reeves, employed by Respondent as a nurses aide, recalled that the Employer's representative, Jerry Bango, conducted some three meetings with employees at the Barberton facility. The initial meeting was held before any organizational activity had commenced at the facility. Reeves testified that at the "second" meeting: I didn't remember exactly everything, but Mr. Bango came in and he was upset. I am not sure the exact words but I think he said, what the hell is going on. .... He threw his coat down on the table and you could tell [that he was upset] by his voice. They talked about a lot of different things, but he talked down to us as if we were children and we didn't know what we were doing, you know, on our jobs and so forth. . . . The only thing I can re- member is he told one of the girls she had a big mouth like he did.6 Reeves, as she testified, asked Bango some "questions" at this meeting about a "break-in" at Respondent's facili- ty. Reeves explained that some weeks earlier, there had been "an alleged breaking in at the Barberton Manor, supposedly to have happened on the third shift." Assist- ant Administrator Steve Plali and Director of Nursing I Bonnett is no longer employed by Respondent She was not called to testify. 6 Reeves further noted: The only thing I can really remember that he said was, he showed us his union card that he carried. I don't know what they call it when they go out of the union, they give you a card to carry He said he had joined it when he was young because he had to, but he still carried it. Diane Chicowski had assembled third-shift employees immediately following the incident and, as Reeves fur- ther recalled: [T]hey called us into the office .... [statements were prepared for employees to sign which] said they were holding third shift responsible for this break-in until somebody came forward and said who had broken in or they found out who did. I protested to Diane and Steve both that I didn't agree with this. Reeves, and others, had signed the statements under pro- test. Reeves, at Bango's "second meeting," wanted to question Bango about this incident. Bango, however, asked the third shift employees to meet with him after his general meeting in order to discuss this "break-in" problem. Reeves further explained: "I was trying to get him [Bango] to get them [the statements signed by third-shift employees] out of our files." Reeves recalled: Mr. Bango had the third shift wait and everybody else left. . . . I told him that we wanted the papers out of our files. He said that he would take them out and tear them up. I said, no, Mr. Bango, you may tear them up, but I want to watch you tear them up. Later, the employees involved were permitted to tear up the "papers." 7 Reeves related a later incident involving Betty Covert, Respondent's new director of nursing, and John Brunt, a supervisor, as follows: They came in and we were all in the meeting, all the aides. They were asking us what they could do, what things needed to be done around there, things that we needed to help us and so forth. You know, like we told them, lights for outside because it was dark outside, [and] curtains by the windows. The above meeting was prior to the initial election in August 1979. The curtains were "put up" during January 1980. Tonya Reeves, also employed as a nurses aide by the Home, recalled that Bango, at his "second meeting" with the employees: . . . walked in and threw his coat on the table and says, what the hell is going on here . . . I hear there is going to be an election. [He] showed us his union card and he said the union is no good, and he was putting us down. Tonya Reeves recalled that coworker Dorothy Reeves "raised her hand and asked Bango about" the "break-in" 7 On cross-examination, Reeves acknowledged that she "brought up Ithisl subject" at the meeting, not Bango 381 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD and the "papers" signed by the employees. Bango asked the third shift to "stay over." Later, third-shift employ- ees met with Bango, explained what had happened, and then Bango obtained the statements for the employees.8 Nurse's aide Kathleen Noaker recalled this "second meeting" attended by Company Representative Bango, as follows: He [Bango] said, to the effect, what I hear about this Union-he came in-he was just upset . . . he threw his coat down ... . He said, "I didn't know there were any problems around here." Noaker noted: At the first meeting, he wasn't even interested in our problems. So, if he wasn't interested in them then, why is he here now. He [Bango] said, "Well, I didn't know things were that bad, why don't you give us a chance to prove what we can do." We said, "You had a chance at your introductory meet- ing when you wouldn't listen to us and that is the only chance we're giving you," because things were bad there. According to Noaker, Bango "kind of chuckled and he said, we know we have some problems with this man- agement, and . . . they wouldn't be there that much longer anyway." "Problems" were then raised and dis- cussed at this "second" meeting. The problems included "the management." Bango said: "there are going to be changes made." Other problems discussed were "laundry hazard problems"; "machines are always breaking down"; "they were not fixed for days"; "general areas around the nursing home short of staff'; and the subject of the "break-in." Bango dealt with the "break-in" and the statements signed by the employees at the end of the meeting with only third-shift personnel present. Bango "turned over the papers and let us tear them up." Gerald Bango, formerly employed by Respondent as assistant director of employee relations, testified that on or about July 1, 1979, Respondent took over certain nursing homes in the Cleveland area, including the Bar- berton Manor. Respondent's representatives met with the employees at the facilities involved both before and after the takeover. Bango attended a "second meeting" at Bar- berton Manor during "the week of July 30." Bango ac- knowledged: "I believe that when we were in Barberton [at this second meeting] we had knowledge of a repre- sentation election petition being filed." Bango generally denied, inter alia, that he had "promise[d] any benefits to employees" because he assertedly was "not allowed to do that." (See Resp. Exh. 2.) Bango, however, acknowl- edged, in effect, that, as a consequence of his meeting, he attempted to remedy employee complaints of "stealing" by a supervisor, Peggy Bonnett, and, further, the warn- ing statements placed in employee personnel files follow- ing a "break-in" were removed. Bango noted: "I felt it [the warning statements as a result of the break-in] was probably more of a violation of [employee] rights and this was one of the reasons I wanted to expunge it from [employee] files." 8 Also see the testimony of aide Carrie Dowdell. Betty Covert testified that she assumed her role as di- rector of nurses for Respondent on or about August 6, 1979. 9 She did "not feel that unions should have any- thing to do with health care facilities." She recalled that on August 6, she met with all the shift employees. She, together with Respondent's representative, John Brunt, held this meeting in order "to discuss with the employees what they felt the priorities were that we [the Employer] should start, in handling their current problems." Em- ployees raised numerous problems and complaints. Covert and Brunt "asked the employees to tell us what their problems were, because we were concerned; we wanted to start out right away, and knowing what their problems were, so we could decide our priorities .... " Covert acknowledged: "The subject did come up that night as to what might my feelings were about unions." Covert was asked: "were you asked that question specifi- cally" and "had you ever previously mentioned the Union .... " She responded, in part, "I don't believe I did-my recollection is I don't believe I did." She later denied that she "ever" brought up the subject of the Union "prior to that." C. The Discharge of Elizabeth Brown Elizabeth Ann Brown testified that she started work- ing for Respondent as a third-shift nurse's aide about April 1978; that her charge nurse gave her "average" evaluations during her some 16 months of employment; and that she never received "any verbal or written warn- ings about [her] work." Brown first became involved with the Union about July 19, 1979. Brown recalled: July 19, we called [the Union]. ... Then we went to meet with them on the 23rd . . . 1979. Brown explained: We called different places like the Teamsters and Steelworkers. I think it was the Steelworkers that said try Retail Clerks, and we did, and we went to meet with them on the 23rd of July 1979. Brown was then given "some literature and discussed what the procedures were of how to form a Union . . ." Brown was also given blank union membership cards. According to Brown: We went out on that evening [July 23], Kathy Noaker and I, we went to Barberton Manor and we started signing people on our own time and on their own time, not on the Company's time. We contin- ued to sign up the next day we came in, and we got the people on the first shift to sign up on their own time before they clocked in. Brown "signed up" some 30 coworkers in a unit con- sisting of about 100 employees. A request for recognition was made upon the employer by the Union and, as noted above, a representation petition was filed with the Board on or about July 26, 1979. Brown thereafter wore a 9 She was previously employed at the facility before Respondent's takeover 382 BARBERTON MANOR union button on her sweater at work. As discussed above, Brown and coworker Noaker were questioned by Supervisor Bonnett about their union activities on or about July 25, 1979. Brown was later discharged on August 14, 1979. Brown testified that Respondent's new director of nurses, Betty Covert, telephoned her about 3:30 p.m. on August 14, while Brown was at her residence sleeping, and requested Brown to come to the facility. Covert and Brown had the following conversation in Covert's office: She [Covert] said that she had heard two patients and a nurse had come in and sworn out an affidavit against me stating that I was physically and verbal- ly abusive to [patient] Jean Anderson that morning. I told her that I didn't do anything to Jean Ander- son that morning. That I had taken care of her like anybody else and she said it was the law that anyone physically or verbally abusing a patient was to be discharged. She said that her and Barry Schimer [the administrator] had been talking it over since that morning at 8:30 and that I was to be- well, before that she had told me-I said, "Are you firing me?" and she said, "Yes." She said that her and Barry Schimer had talked it over since 8:30 that morning and I was to be fired. * * * * * I ask. d to talk to Barry and he wouldn't talk to me. * . * * * She said that I would have to be fired, because there was no sense in talking to Barry. I asked him to produce the nurse and the patient. * * * * I asked Betty if she would ask Barry if he would have them face me, the patient and the nurse that swore the affidavit against me. She said they couldn't do that. So, then, she went across the hall and she talked to Barry. She came back and said they had talked to their attorney and he said that I was to leave the premises at once and I was not to see them. Brown explained how she had serviced patient Jean Anderson on August 14, as follows: Approximately 6:30 [a.m.] we went down on the floor. I always started in the front of the wing. I went through and got everything. Everybody else was taken care of. I went into Jean's room and gave her a wash cloth and put her bed railing down and I went to get her robe. She didn't want the robe, it was too bulky. I told her it was cold and she had told me that she had a duster in her drawer so I went and got that and I put it on her. I started to walk her to the bathroom and she did not want me to walk beside her. She wanted me to walk in front of her and hold on to her hand. I said no because if I fall you would fall. And if I walk behind you I will be able to help you and better catch you. So, I took her into the bathroom and helped her on the toilet. Then, I put her wheelchair in front of the toilet and put her posey and her brakes on. I waited at the end of the bed. In the meantime, Alice Taylor, the nurse's aid that had worked with me that night, had been standing at the door and in the meantime she had came and told me that she had needed me down in Mrs. Nash's room. She needed help because Mrs. Nash had made a mess and we had to get her cleaned up that morning. Later, as Brown further recalled, "Jean wanted me to help her in the wheelchair" from "the toilet"; I told her all she has to do was turn and sit down ". . . which she did"; and "I took her out and I put her lap robe on her and gave her her teeth and her comb because Jean could do these things for herself." In addition, Brown testified: Then, I took Jean and pushed her down the hall in her wheelchair and I stopped by the door and asked why she needed two towels. I remembered before that she always wanted two towels, it was a necessi- ty for her. She told me one for her legs and one for her back. So, I put those back and she told me I had forgotten her pillow, so I got that one out of the room. I had gotten a pillow out of the room next to us and I put it under her legs and then I took her down to the dining room. Brown claimed that "I just sat her [Jean Anderson] at the table in the middle of the room at the table she usual- ly eats at"; "I asked her if she had everything and if she was all right and she said yes"; this was about 7 a.m., and nothing "unusual or out of the ordinary" took place that morning. Alice Taylor, also employed by Respondent as a nurses aide on the night shift during August 1979, testi- fied that she had "cared for" patient Anderson "most of the time"; that Anderson was then about 97 years old' ° and was "confused" and "very demanding"; and that she had witnessed nothing "out of the ordinary" on the morning of August 14. Taylor recalled: When we went down on the floor to start getting patients up, I assume around 6:30, I told Ann [Brown] I would start at the front and Ann started at the back. We worked our way down. When I got to Ms. Nash's room, she had messed the bed and I knew that I couldn't handle it by myself, so I went down to get Ann to come up and help me. At that time, I stood in the doorway and Ann was getting Jean Anderson into the wheelchair-out of the bathroom and into the wheelchair and everything looked normal to me. Taylor further testified: o Anderson, as discussed below, died some 5 months later. 383 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD I was standing in the hall up by Ms. Nash's room waiting for Ann and she brought Jean Anderson up the hall, and they went into the dining room. But, we were also instructed by the nurses not to get Jean Anderson up until the last because they didn't want Jean Anderson to sit at the nurses station be- cause she drove them crazy. Taylor also testified that on the "following morning": I went into Jean Anderson's room to get her up and I asked Jean Anderson what happened. She put her finger up to her mouth like "sh" and she said, "I'm not allowed to talk about it." That is all that was said. Tony Reeves was in there. From then on we never got Jean Anderson up by ourselves, we always made sure we had somebody in there with us. On cross-examination, Taylor testified, as follows: Q. You stated that you observed Ann Brown and Jean Anderson when you came back from Ms. Nash's room [on August 14]? A. Yes. Q. What did you observe Ann Brown doing? A. Ann was getting Jean into the bathroom and into the wheelchair. Q. She was getting her into the bathroom? A. She was taking her into the bathroom. I stood in the doorway to find out, you know, about how long she would be, and I walked up to the other end of the hall. Q. So, was Ms. Anderson going into the bath- room for the first time at that time or was she coming out? A. I believe she was coming out. I believe she was getting into the wheelchair. Q. You saw Ann Brown helping her into the wheelchair? A. Ann Brown was standing behind the wheel- chair. I was talking to Ann but I believe Jean An- derson was in the bathroom by herself as she was getting into - she was either getting into the bath- room or getting into the wheelchair - I'm not sure. Q. You don't really remember it very clearly do you? A. That is correct. Tonya Reeves testified that patient Anderson was "confused" and "demanding"; "if she didn't get her way she was very upset . . . Reeves claimed that the "next morning after" Brown was "discharged," Taylor and Reeves "asked [Anderson] if anything happened that morning and [Anderson] went like this . . . she said 'sh,' I'm not allowed to talk about it.""I Carrie Dowdell, formerly employed by Respondent as an aide, testified that she was "accused of abusing a pa- t Anderson's medical records reflect that her general condition varied during the period involved here. I note that on May 12, 1979, a physician observed that she was "pleasantly confused" with "poor sight." (See Resp. Exh. 10.) Anderson, 97 years old, had skin cancer and arthritis. She was receiving radiation therapy. tient at Barberton Manor" in September 1979, following Brown's discharge. Dowdell explained: . . . Stella Wagner [a patient] . . . said I had thrown a bedpan at her and it was full of BM and they had written me up for it.... The nurse had written me up .... Dowdell was asked: "whether you were ever questioned about this incident?" She testified: Yes, I was .. . . Betty Covert. .... Yes, she asked me and I told her. She told me . . . don't worry about anything, because she knew the patient and [the patient] was confused .... Nurses aide Noaker similarly recalled that, shortly after Brown was "discharged," she too was "accused of abusing a patient" at the facility. Noaker testified: I was reported to by my nurse that Ms. Covert talked to Jason Koontz [a patient.] He was a very confused patient and my nurse was questioned about my activities with that patient. My nurse evi- dently told Ms. Covert that I was on the up-and-up and that I wouldn't do that .... He [the patient] wanted my heater button on the bedrail .... Apparently, the patient was complaining about the insuf- ficiency of the heat in his room. Barry Schimer testified that he has been employed by Respondent since June 18, 1979; that he first assumed the duties of administrator at Barberton Manor on August 6, 1979; that prior to August 6, he had visited Barberton on only one occasion (June 26) in order to conduct a preta- keover inventory for Respondent; that prior to August 14, he had never "met an employee named Elizabeth Ann Brown" or heard her name "ever mentioned"; and that 9:30 a.m. on August 14 was the "first time" he "heard this person's name." Director of Nursing Betty Covert informed Schimer that morning that there were patients who wanted to see him. Schimer then held a meeting in his office attended by Kathleen Becay, Re- spondent's activities director; Pat Morris, a licensed prac- tical nurse; Jean Anderson, a patient; and Mildred Lott, a patient. Covert did not attend this meeting. Schimer recalled that Anderson was then about 97 years old; "she had skin cancer over her body that re- quired periodic radiation treatments"; "she also had ar- thritis and could not move very well"; and she could not walk "without assistance." At this meeting, Anderson re- lated the following complaints to Schimer:'2 She [Anderson] mentioned how fearful she was for her safety. She was crying and very flushed and her hands were shaking. She mentioned that the previous morning she had asked for assistance and was told that she had to get herself up that morn- ing; she had to do for herself. She mentioned that she was helped to the bathroom. 12 As noted, Anderson died some months later. Evidentiary issues per- taining to the receipt of this and related evidence are discussed below 384 385 BARBERTON MANOR [She] was helped to the bathroom in her room, and had been helped to be placed on the toilet. After she had been on the toilet for a short period of time, she mentioned to me [Schimer] that she was pulled off the toilet by one of her arms, and the statement was made by Ann Brown that it was time you were off the toilet, you have had enough. Mrs. Anderson mentioned to me that she was not fin- ished. In addition, she mentioned that she had been fearful for her safety for some period of time, par- ticularly when Ann Brown was on the shift. She cried for assistance; she pleaded with me to help protect her; I was very concerned. Anderson also told Schimer that she had asked aide Brown "what her name was" that morning and Brown responded: "shut up, whose business is it anyway .... Anderson as noted, was upset and "couldn't eat" that morning. Schimer prepared somewhat sketchy notes of this meeting (See Resp. Exh. 4). Schimer next identified Respondent's Exhibit 5 as a typed statement, prepared by him, signed by Anderson and witnessed by Schimer and Becay. Respondent's Ex- hibit 5, dated August 14, 1979, recites, inter alia, that An- derson is of "sound mind"; was "subjected to physical and verbal abuse from nurses aide Ann Brown during the early morning of August 14, 1979"; was told to "shut up" when she tried to ascertain Brown's name; and ..while in the bathroom on August 14, 1979, Ms. Brown . . . forcefully "dragged me by the arm" and shouted "its time you're off the toilet." Anderson's statement also refers to her being "subjected to this type of behavior on numerous occasions" in the past when Brown was assigned to her. Mildred Lott, a patient at the facility was also present at the meeting. Schimer testified that Lott told him "that she had witnessed personally Ann Brown verbally abus- ing and being disrespectful to Jean .... " that Lott re- lated how she had "overheard Ann Brown [behind a di- viding curtain] talking to another aide referring to Jean Anderson - that she [Brown] could just beat the hell out of her . . ."; and that Lott "pleaded with [Schimer] to do something" for Anderson. Schimer prepared a typed statement for Lott to sign." (See Resp. Exh. 6.)13 Schimer acknowledged that "prior to [his] deciding to discharge Ann Brown," he did not "speak with her" be- cause he "didn't think it was necessary." Schimer, how- ever, conferred with Covert after his meeting with the two patients. Schimer testified: I pretty much had made up my mind after speaking with these patients that something very definitely had been wrong that prior morning and other times, and that something had to be done. I asked [Covert] what her feelings were about patient abuse and she corroborated that she would have acted the same Is Schimer also identified Resp. Exh 7 as statements taken by him some 2 weeks earlier at another facility of the Employer to show. inter alia, that he followed similar procedures where a patient abuse complaint was made to him based on the same kind of information. I asked [Covert] if she would mind contacting Ann Brown and have her come in and terminate her. This was about 10:30 a.m. on August 14. Later, about 11 a.m., Schimer spoke with Russ Cloud, Respondent's di- rector of employee relations, who assertedly confirmed or agreed with Schimer's determination. Schimer next testified that about 1 p.m. that same day, August 14, he interviewed another patient, Ruby Wol- ford, and similarly prepared a typed statement for her to sign. (See Resp. Exh. 8.) Schimer testified: I asked her [Wolford] if she had heard anything that previous morning when the incident occurred. She corroborated that she was [awakened] by yell- ing in the adjoining room and Ann Brown was tell- ing Jean to get herself up and she didn't have time for her .... Schimer acknowledged that Wolford's statement (Resp. Exh. 8) "has been whited-out" in part because "she said she couldn't sign it because it wasn't totally true." Schimer "whited-out" the objectionable material. Schimer claimed: It had to do with her washing-Mrs. Anderson had wanted her face washed and I thought she [Wol- ford] said that Ann Brown said, "you wash it your- self." Wolford's statement, which will be discussed further below, is dated August 22, 8 days after the incident. Schimer explained: Yes, I took the statement that afternoon, the 14th. Unfortunately, we had changed secretaries in the office and everything was quite chaotic. I had it written out but I could not get it typed. As soon as I had it typed I went to talk to Ruby. At that time [August 22], we went through this line by line and that is where she said she couldn't agree to that. I tried in good faith to have a typewriter but I couldn't, so much was going on. On cross-examination, Schimer acknowledged that he had made no attempt to speak with either Brown or Brown's supervisor on duty at the time f the incident before determining to fire Brown. Schimer was unaware at the time of any earlier complaints or warnings "against Ann Brown." Schimer was asked why he spoke with Wolford after he had made his decision to dis- charge Brown. Schimer generally denied that he was "building a case against Ann Brown"; instead, he claimed: "No, I was building a case that I had made the right decision." Further, Schimer claimed that he did in fact speak to Brown later that afternoon "on the inter- com." According to Schimer: I was speaking [on the telephone] with Betty Covert at the time; she had mentioned that Ann wanted to see the statements which I had in my office. She [Brown] wanted to talk to me. Ann was DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD given the phone and she said she didn't do any- thing, that Jean Anderson was a liar and she de- manded to see the document. I told her I couldn't allow her to see those because of the confidentiality, and she said she was going to get a lawyer and go to the Union. I said I'm sorry, but I understood. She had to do what she had to do, but I had to do what I had to to protect these patients. At the time of this telephone conversation Covert and Brown were in an office about 75 feet away from Schimer's office. In addition, Schimer also testified: Q. Mr. Schimer, you stated that Jean Anderson told you that when she was pulled off the toilet that she was not finished. A. Yes. Q. Was there physical evidence of that? A. Not that I investigated. Q. Did anyone investigate it? A. Not to my knowledge. Mildred Lott-a patient at the Home during the August 14 incident who was discharged later that same day-testified that she met Anderson while at the Home; that Anderson had complained to her about aide Brown's "treatment of her"; and that . . . it seemed as though [Brown] tried to get [An- derson] to get up more often and bathe herself and do for herself. She [Anderson] was afraid . . . she would fall and get a broken hip. Lott recalled that Anderson had the following conversa- tion or conversations with her: She [Anderson] said she asked [Brown] her name and [Brown] told her she didn't have to know. Lott claimed: "it was at different times that she [Ander- son] told me about it." Lott then testified that she would "place" the above conversation about July 1979. In addi- tion, Lott recalled that about this same time, she over- heard Brown and another aide talking, while "they were working on" a patient in her room, and . . . she [Brown] said to Kathy [the other aide], "I'd just like to beat the hell out of that Jean An- derson." Lott, as she further testified, related these complaints to Schimer on August 14 at the meeting in his office and signed a typed statement prepared by Schimer. This statement (Resp. Exh. 6) recites, inter alia: Ms. Brown has on numerous occasions been cruel and rough in her manner of speaking to Mrs. An- derson. Furthermore, Ms. Brown did say that "I could just beat the hell out of her [referring to Mrs. Anderson]." Lott also witnessed the complaints then related by An- derson to Schimer at the August 14 meeting, as follows: She [Anderson] told us how [Brown] had talked to her and tried to make her walk and bathe herself and like that .... Lott, on cross-examination, explained that she required Schimer to remove from her typed statement (Resp. Exh. 6) the words "to me" because Brown "didn't say it [the quoted material] directly to me." Schimer then "whited-out" the words "to me." Further, Lott acknowl- edged that she did not witness the incident on August 14 in Anderson's room and that, while she was a patient, Brown was not physically or verbally rough to her. Pat Morris, employed as a licensed practical nurse at the facility on August 14, recalled that about 8 a.m. she went to Anderson's room. Anderson was "very upset," had not eaten breakfast, and was "crying." Morris re- called: At that time, I tried to find out why she [Anderson] was upset and she had not eaten breakfast. She just said that she was so upset she couldn't talk to me right then, and I calmed her down enough to have her take her tea and toast, and she said maybe she will feel better enough to talk to me. Morris, as she further testified, returned to Andersoi room "around 10:30." This was "prior to the meeting with Mr. Schimer." Morris elsewhere testified that the meeting with Schimer "would be around 9 .... " Morris explained that prior to the meeting, when she re- turned to Anderson's room, Anderson "proceeded to say she felt she had been treated badly . . . when she was getting up in the morning .... "Anderson complained to Morris: She was told she had to do more for herself. She said the aide came into the room and she said she was in a hurry and didn't have time for her. She said she had to do more for herself. She said she had to wash her own face and get out of bed with- out needing much help. She said when she was in the bathroom she was made to get up off the toilet before she was done and she felt they were very rough in the transferring procedure. She didn't like the way she was spoken to, ver- bally telling her to shut up. Morris also spoke with patient Lott about this incident and then "talked to ... Supervisor Betty Covert .... " Morris was present in Schimer's office during the meeting later that morning and witnessed Anderson and Lott relate their complaints and sign their separate typed statements. Morris explained: Jean related in her own way how she was treated, being yanked from the commode and being told to do more for herself, wash her own face. She was worried, she wanted to know who was going to put her to bed that night. * * * 386 BARBERTON MANOR Mildred Lott had said that there were things that she had heard, you know, the aides talking this way to Jean that morning. She confirmed Jean's story about the commotion that morning. Kathleen Becay, the activities director, testified that Anderson was "very upset" on the morning of August 14. Anderson complained "that she was hurried and not given enough time on the toilet and she was treated roughly." Becay related these complaints to nurse Morris. Later, a meeting was held in Schimer's office. Becay testified that Anderson and Lott then related their complaints, as discussed above. Becay witnessed the statements signed by Anderson and Lott. Director of Nursing Betty Covert testified that on August 14 she was informed by nurse Morris about the patient abuse complaint against aide Brown; she related the complaint to administrator Schimer; the two "dis- cussed the procedure of how we would go about doing it": "we decided that Mr. Schimer would discuss it with the patient while I did some telephoning with the staff trying to find out some more of the incident"; she had apprised Schimer that patient Anderson was "alert, co- operative and very rational"; and: I [Covert] attempted to reach all of the nurses who worked on the third shift, that night. There were two I was finally able to get [hold] of, an RN and LPN. I got [hold] of those in the Green Room that night and they were not aware of anything at all. RN Marge Rohr said that she had been moonlight- ing. She was very tired. She was not aware of any incident that happened. Schimer, following his meeting with the patients, spoke with Covert. Covert then "told him about [her] at- tempts to get with the nurses. He had asked [her] then to call Ann Brown and ask her to come in for a conference to terminate her." Covert denied that Brown's union ac- tivities were mentioned at that meeting. Covert also denied any knowledge of Brown's union activities. Elsewhere, Covert recalled that between August 6 and 14, she had attended a management meeting in Schimer's office. Present were Schimer and "all department heads," including Peggy Bonnett. Covert claimed that "we were told not to question anybody at all about the Union." Covert also testified: Q. Did any department heads at that meeting name names of employees that they felt were en- gaged in Union activities? A. Yes. Q. Who was that person? A. Peggy Bonnett. Covert, however, insisted that Ann Brown's name was not "mentioned." Bonnett assertedly "went down the roster of her employees in housekeeping, laundry and maintenance." Covert, as she further testified, telephoned Ann Brown to "come in for a conference" on August 14. The meet- ing was held about 3:30 p.m. Covert recalled: Q. Please relate our discussions,with Ms. Brown at that time stating both what you and she said? A. Okay. She was upset that she had to come in. I told her that I was very disappointed in her. That I was the person who interviewed her, who had hired her. I previously stated as director of nursing, I had nothing but very good reports about her. She was a very good above average nursing assistant. There was never any question at any time of her not assuming her responsibilities. I told her that I was very sorry that I had to tell her that we had a patient that morning that complained of verbal and physical abuse from her. Reminded her of what our policy was. She remembered what I said in the in- terview about our policy. That was about it. She was very upset. She was very sensitive. She said in no way at all she would have done anything like that. I told her that we did have affidavits and state- ments from patients and she demanded to know who the patients were and who the nurse was who reported her. I said because of confidentiality I could not reveal that to her. She wanted to talk with Mr. Schimer. I called him on the intercom. I told Mr. Schimer that Ann wxanted to see him. Ann was rather loud in my office at that point and it was very difficult to hear. So, I left Ann in my office and went to Mr. Schimer's office. Q. At any time were any allegations made that you had terminated her because of the Union? A. When I had returned from Mr. Schimer's office, Ann said she had called her husband and told him what had happened while I was out of the office. That she was calling the Union in on this, that I had terminated her because of the Union. I told her at that point that I could care less about the Union and the Union had nothing to do with it. The Union had been the least of my thoughts that whole day. Q. Did anyone ever mention a patient's name? A. No, Ann did. Q. No, I said did anyone ever? A. No. Q. Did anyone in any office mention a patient's name? A. Yes. Ann said that I should not believe Jean Anderson, that Jean Anderson was confused and Jean Anderson was a liar. Q. Had you prior to that time ever mentioned Jean Anderson's name? A. No, I did not. Q. Had you brought up the names of any pa- tients? A. None at all. Q. Why not? A. Confidentiality. Nor did I reveal the nurse's name either. Q. For the same reason? A. For the same reason. 387 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR R.ATI()NS BOARD Q. How did Ms. Brown act when she left your office? A. She was upset. She was swearing. She was hollering and she went out the front door. On cross-examination, Covert acknowledged that "there are frequent accusations by patients of employees abusing them." Covert recalled that she had telephoned Marge Rohr, the registered nurse on duty the night of the August 14 incident, and Janet McNair, the licensed practical nurse on duty that night. Rohr "was not aware of what went on in the wing that morning," Covert was asked: "Did you ask Ann Brown what happened?" She testified: I cannot give you an honest answer. I do not think I did. I cannot give you an honest answer. Further, with respect to the later patient abuse complaint against Dowdell, Covert was asked: "Did you contact Carrie Dowdell at that time and ask what happened?" Covert testified: Possibly so, I cannot give you an honest answer be- cause I had so many conferences with Carrie. At this point in time I'm not sure what day this was. 14 And, Covert acknowledged that Anderson was in fact "a very demanding patient." Ruby Wolford, a 67-year-old patient at the facility, tes- tified from her bed at the Home. She was at the time in bed with a catheter. At the time of August 14, when the Brown-Anderson incident allegedly occurred, she was similarly in the bed with the catheter. Wolford's room is opposite the Anderson room. Wolford recalled that Schimer "talked to her two or three different times," and prepared a statement for her to sign. Wolford testified: I told him that I heard Ann Brown tell Mrs. Ander- son that she had to get up and walk over to her chair, and she said I can't walk. So she said you have to, I don't have time to take you up today; I got others to take up, other people to take up. She was talking very loud. Wolford later signed the statement prepared by Schimer. Wolford recalled that Schimer had included in her state- ment "something that I didn't hear about getting a wash cloth, about washing her face," and Wolford caused Schimer to remove this from her statement. Wolford claimed that when aide Brown took care of her, "she was rough with me too." Wolford explained: Q. What did she [Brown] do? A. She was supposed to put me in the chair early in the morning. I get up by lift and I can't get up by myself .... They bring up the wheelchair now. They bring it up for me to go to physical therapy, but at that time I didn't get up in that wheelchair. Wolford added: " Dowdell, according to Covert, was the subject of more than one patient abuse complaint Dowdell was later terminated by Respondent for "frequent absences on weekends." She [Brown] upset me for one thing, and she quarreled with me. I can't remember what it was but she would yell at me almost every time she came in my room about something, because I was terribly sick when I first came in here . ... '5 I credit the testimony of employees Brown and Noaker, as recited in section A above, pertaining to their interrogation by Supervisor Bonnett on or about July 25, 1979. The testimony of Brown and Noaker is mutually corroborative and uncontradicted. Bonnett did not tes- tify. Further, I note that Director of Nursing Covert ac- knowledged that shortly after the above interrogation, at a meeting of "all department heads" in Administrator Schimer's office, Bonnett "name[d] names of employees that she felt were engaged in Union activities." Covert asserted that Bonnett, at that meeting, only "went down the roster of her employees in housekeeping, laundry and maintenance" naming suspected union activists. Howev- er, on this entire record, I am persuaded that Bonnett did not confine her disclosures of suspected union supporters to only those persons working in her department and, in- stead, also revealed to upper management what she had learned shortly prior from aides Brown and Noaker. And, as discussed below, I do not find Director of Nurs- ing Covert as well as Administrator Schimer to be reli- able or trustworthy witnesses here. I also credit the testimony of employees Dorothy Reeves, Tonya Reeves, Noaker, and Dowdell pertaining to their "second meeting" with Company Representative Bango during late July 1979, as recited in section B, above. Their testimony is in significant part mutually corroborative and substantiated in part by the testimony of Bango. They impressed me as credible and reliable witnesses. Insofar as the testimony of Bango differs with their testimony, I do not credit the testimony of Bango. Bango appeared at times to be vague, evasive, and in- complete in his recitation of what transpired. Further, I also credit the testimony of Dorothy Reeves, as recited in section B, above, concerning her meeting during early August with Covert and Brunt. Covert acknowledged that she in fact met with the aide employees on August 6; that she asked them "what their problems were," and that she, at the same time, informed the employees "as to what might [her] feelings [be] about unions." Turning to the evidence pertaining to the discharge of employee Brown on August 14, 1979, as recited in sec- tion C, above, I credit the testimony of Brown concern- ing her union activities commencing about July 19. Her testimony in this respect is corroborated in part by the testimony of employee Noaker. I also credit Brown's tes- timony concerning her interrogation by Supervisor Bon- nett on or about July 25, as found supra. Further, I am '5 Tonya Reeves, on rebuttal, corrected her earlier testimony that she had a conversation with Anderson "the next morning after" Brown was discharged. Reeves explained that this conversation was "two days" later. Reeves also claimed that she, and aide Taylor, spoke with Wolford about this same time. Wolford assertedly told Reeves and Taylor that "she heard voices in Anderson's room [on August 14] but she could not make out what they were saying . .. "Alice Taylor similarly testified on rebuttal 388 389 BARBERTON MANOR persuaded here that Brown and coworker Taylor have truthfully related how Brown cared for patient Anderson on the morning of August 14. Brown claimed that, in her view, nothing "unusual or out of the ordinary" took place that morning. Taylor likewise recalled that "every- thing looked normal to me." The testimony of Brown and Taylor is in significant part mutually corroborative in this respect. However, I note that Brown acknowledged that on the morning of August 14, she had refused a request by patient Anderson "to walk in front of her and hold on to her hand;" that patient Anderson "wanted [Brown] to help her in the wheelchair" from "the toilet" and Brown "told her all she has to do was turn and sit down . . . which she did"; that coworker Taylor "needed" Brown's "help" because another patient "had made a mess"; that patient Anderson " . .. when she could do things for herself . . . would want you to do it for her . . ."; and that Brown felt that "if [patients like Anderson] can help theirself, they should." Further, patient Anderson's medi- cal records and related testimony make it clear that this 97-year-old patient was suffering from skin cancer, was receiving radiation therapy and other medication, was at times "confused" and "demanding," and "refuses to help self' and "likes to be waited on." Moreover, as licensed practical nurse, Morris, acknowledged, patient Anderson "complained" to her "off and on for two weeks" prior to August 14, as follows: Sshe [Anderson] just made the comments that . . . they didn't put her in bed gently enough. She felt that people could be more gentle with her. And when she got up in the morning she felt that she was rushed, she didn't have enough time to sit on the toilet now. That was just general. And, as Director of Nurses Covert further acknowl- edged, "there are frequent accusations by patients of em- ployees abusing them." Assessed in this context, I am persuaded here that Brown, on the morning of August 14, to some extent rushed patient Anderson and urged her to do for herself; that patient Anderson became upset;"6 and that patient Anderson complained later that morning to personnel and copatient Lott, as recited above, I am persuaded here that patient Anderson in fact made the oral com- plaints attributed to her by Administrator Schimer, Ac- tivities Director Becay, nurse Morris, and patient Lott. I am also persuaded that patient Anderson signed the typed statement prepared by Schimer in his office (Resp. Exh. 5). Counsel for Respondent argues in his brief that patient Anderson's oral complaints, as recited above, and her signed statement "should be given substantive effect as to Ms. Brown having engaged in patient abuse." Counsel argues that these oral and written statements are admissi- ble as exceptions to the prohibition against receiving hearsay under Federal Rules of Evidence, Rules 804(5), 803(2), and 803(24). A threshold determination in order 1' Activities Director Becay recalled that patient Anderson would get "upset" if not attended to "right away" and "cry maybe once or twice a week during the activities . . to attach substantive effect to such statements under Rule 804(5) or Rule 803(24) is that such statements have, in effect, "equivalent circumstantial guarantees of trust- worthiness .... " The oral and written complaints of patient Anderson, on this record, do not have such "equivalent circumstantial guarantees of trustworthi- ness." Patient Anderson's complaints were not made under oath. She was at the time 97 years old; receiving radiation therapy and medication; at times confused and demanding; and periodically subjected to crying spells when she did not get her way. Indeed, patient Anderson was unable to identify the aide involved in this alleged incident until nurse Morris "mentioned her name" in Schimer's office. Further, Administrator Schimer, in se- curing similar signed statements concerning this alleged incident from patients Lott and Wolford, included sig- nificant overstatements of fact which had to be "whited out." The record in this case shows, as discussed below, that Schimer was in fact making a case against Brown, a known Union protagonist, and the hearsay statements of this 97-year-old patient, under all the circumstances pres- ent here, are not sufficiently reliable to prove the truth of the matter contained therein. Cf. .. L.R.B. v. McClure Associates, Inc., 556 F.2d 725 (4th Cir. 1977); United States v. Kim, 595 F.2d 755, 764-766 (D.C. Cir. 1979). Further, I reject counsel for Respondent's related asser- tion that patient Anderson's complaints here constitute an "excited utterance" under Rule 803(2). In view of pa- tient Anderson's condition and the events attending her making these statements, as recited above, the "state of excitement resulting from the event" had long since spent itself. The element of spontaneity was gone. She was no longer in a "state of excitement" resulting from the event but, instead, caused by her condition of health. Cf. Hilyer v. Howat Concrete Co., 578 F.2d 422, 425-426 (D.C. Cir. 1978), and cases cited. I do, however, credit the testimony of patients Lott and Wolford as to what they in fact saw and observed during the pertinent period. Of course, patient Lott ac- knowledged that she did not witness the alleged incident of August 14 and Brown was never physically or verbal- ly "rough" with her. Patient Lott also related that she heard Brown tell another aide, "I'd just like to beat the hell out of that Jean Anderson." Patient Lott placed this statement over 1 month prior to August 14 and there is some confusion here with the testimony of Schimer and Becay as to whether Lott heard this from behind a divid- ing "curtain." Likewise, patient Wolford, while in bed with a catheter, heard Brown instructing patient Ander- son in another room, inter alia, "to get up and walk over to her chair" and state "I don't have time to take you up today .... " Wolford also related her general com- plaints of Brown as "rough with me too." I note, as Ad- ministrator Schimer recalled, Wolford "has at times . . . small strokes in her brain and at times she cannot remem- ber things .... " Schimer nevertheless interviewed Wolford a few times before she signed a statement for him some 8 days after the alleged August 14 incident. In sum, I find that patients Lott and Wolford have truthful- ly related what they in fact observed and heard. One must assess the significance of their testimony in the con- DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RL.ATIONS BOARD text of their conditions of health and under the circum- stances in which they were called upon to make these statements. (See fn. 17, below.) As for the firing of Brown, I credit Brown's recollec- tion of what transpired on the afternoon of August 14. The testimony of Administrator Schimer and Director of Nurses Covert was at times vague, evasive, and incom- plete. Insofar as the above testimony of Brown differs with the testimony of Schimer and Covert, I credit the testimony of Brown. The summary firing of Brown with- out first affording her any opportunity to explain what had happened under all the circumstances present here, including the failure by Schimer to make any complete investigation before determining to fire Brown, Brown's known union activities, and the timing of this firing, all persuade me that Schimer and Covert were attempting to get rid of a known union protagonist in an effort to discourage union activities at Respondent's facility. Fur- ther, I credit the testimony of both employees Noaker and Dowdell concerning their different treatment by management when patient abuse complaints were similar- ly lodged against them. Covert, in her testimony, sub- stantiates in part the testimony of Dowdell and Noaker in this respect." Discussion It is settled law that an employer violates Section 8(a)(1) of the Act where its supervisory personnel, during t,.- course of a unionization campaign, coercively interrogates employees about their union activities. See, e.g., N.L.R.B. v. Flemingsburgh Manufacturng Co., 300 F.2d 182 (6th Cir. 1962); N.L.R.B. v. Camco. Inc., 340 F.2d 803 (5th Cir. 1965). Here, as the credited and un- contradicted evidence shows, Supervisor Bonnett stopped employees Brown and Noaker on their way to a meeting at Respondent's facility and questioned them about their suspected union activities. Brown and Noaker were key union protagonists. Noaker, as she credibly tes- tified, told Bonnett that she was "breaking the law" by her interrogation. Bonnett responded that "she didn't give . . . a damn about the law." Bonnett faulted the employees for "pick[ing] that Union"; "she was just very down on this certain Union"; and she "said [that] this Union has been other places . . . but they never helped them ... " Bonnett questioned the employees as to "why" they didn't get a different union to represent them or "ask" her, Bonnett, "about the Union." This in- terrogation of two leading union supporters, under the circumstances present here, plainly tended to impinge upon employee Section 7 activities. Indeed, Bonnett later attended a meeting of all department heads in Adminis- trator Schimer's office where she named employees sus- a" Although I find that employees Tonya Reeves and Taylor credibly testified concerning their interviews of Anderson and Wolford following the August 14 firing of Brown, I attach no weight to this testimony. El- derly patients in nursing homes are likely to make such statements or ac- knowledgements to either management or to its employees. They are, as this record demonstrates, most vulnerable to such pressures because they are dependent on both the facility's management and its personnel for their daily needs in order to survive. Counsel for the General Counsel and counsel for Respondent have both filed motions to correct the transcript. Their motions, which are un- opposed, are granted. pected of union activities. I am persuaded here that Bon- nett, at this meeting, named both suspected union sup- porters working under her immediate supervision as well as employees Brown and Noaker. And, as found below, Brown was summarily discharged shortly thereafter be- cause of her union activities prior to the scheduled repre- sentation election. In sum, I find and conclude here that Respondent, by this coercive conduct, violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act as alleged. Further, an employer violates Section 8(a)(1) of the Act where, in an effort to discourage employee union ac- tivities, it solicits and remedies employee grievances. For, as the Board stated in Litton Dental Products Divi- sion of Litton Industrial Products, Inc., 221 NLRB 700, 701 (Member Jenkins dissenting) (1975), enforcement denied 543 F.2d 1085 (4th Cir. 1976): In determining whether solicitation of grievances and granting of benefits is a violation of Section 8(a)(1) of the Act, the Board has traditionally looked to the timing of knowledge of the union campaign and the granting of benefits. When the timing of the granting of benefits coincides with the origination of employee union activity, then, absent an affirmative showing of some legitimate business reason for the timing, it is not unreasonable to draw the inference of improper motivation and improper interference with employee freedom of choice. 8 In the instant case, as detailed supra, Respondent's Representative Bango conducted a series of meetings with the Respondent's employees. The first meeting was held before any union organizational activity had com- menced. The second meeting was held shortly following the Union's filing of its representation petition with the Board. Bango, at this second meeting, appeared upset and threw his coat down. As employee Noaker credibly recalled: He [Bango] said, to the effect, what I hear about this Union .... I didn't know there were any problems around here .... Noaker responded: At the first meeting, he [Bango] wasn't even inter- ested in any of our problems. So, if he wasn't inter- ested in them then, why is he here now. He [Bango] said, well I didn't know things were that bad, why don't you give us a chance to prove what we can do. At this second meeting, third-shift employees complained to Bango how they had been compelled to sign state- ments or write-ups concerning an alleged break-in at the Home some weeks earlier. Bango had these employees stay after the general meeting, at which time he secured 18 The court, in denying enforcement in the above case, noted in part (543 F.2d at 1087): Quite clearly, correction of the employer's derelictions was not initi- ated in a critical period of union organization 390 391 BARBERTON MANOR the signed statements and writeups for the employees and permitted them to be destroyed.' On this record, I find and conclude that representative Bango unlawfully solicited and remedied employee grievances in an attempt to deter the Union's organiza- tional campaign. For, as the court noted in a somewhat analogous context in .L.R.B. v. WKRG-TV, 470 F.2d 1302, 1307-08 (5th Cir. 1973), "Lightning struck only after the Union's rod was hoisted." It is true, as counsel for Respondent notes "Respondent had just taken over the operation of the facility . . .; it is only natural for it to want to make sure that it was running properly .... " However, here, management, at its second meet- ing with the employees, immediately following the filing of the representation petition, made clear to the employ- ees its opposition to the Union, solicited employee com- plaints and summarily remedied them in a manner plainly calculated to chill Section 7 activities. In like vein, Di- rector of Nurses Covert later questioned employees "about what their problems were" and, at the same time, made clear to the employees her opposition to the Union.20 In sum, I find and conclude here that Respond- ent unlawfully solicited and remedied employee griev- ances, in violation of Section 8(a)(1) of the Act as al- leged. It is further alleged that Respondent violated Section 8(a)(3) and (1) of the Act by discharging employee Brown on August 14, 1979, because of her union activi- ties. Counsel for Respondent argues that "Brown was discharged solely because Respondent's administrator be- lieved that she had engaged in patient abuse .... " However, it is settled that the Board is "not compelled to accept" the employer's assigned reason for discharg- ing an employee "when there is reasonable cause for be- lieving that the ground put forward by the employer was not the true one, and that the real reason was the em- ployer's dissatisfaction with the employee's union activi- ty." The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. v. N.L.R.B., 354 F.2d 707, 709 (5th Cir. 1966). Also see Ni:L.R.B. v. West Side Carpent Cleaning Co., 329 F.2d 758, 761 (6th Cir. 1964). On the credited evidence of record in this case, I find and conclude that the patient abuse com- plaint related to management on the morning of August 14 was not the "true" or "real reason" for Brown's sum- mary firing that day. I find and conclude instead that management seized upon this complaint as a pretext to get rid of a known and unwanted union protagonist shortly before the scheduled representation election. Thus, as recited supra, Brown worked for the Re- spondent as a nurses aide on the night shift for about 16 months prior to her firing. She had never received any complaints or reprimands about her work either orally or in writing. She had received, in her view, "average" job ratings from her supervisor. Indeed, as Director of Nurses Covert acknowledged, "I had nothing but very good reports about [Brown]. She was a very good above average nursing assistant." Brown, together with her co- workers, became active in seeking out union representa- 19 Bango acknowledged that "I was familiar with the break-in at the facility . ". Bango added: "but I had no idea how it was handled" 20 One of the employee complaints related to Covert, pertaining to hanging curtains in the facility, was later remedied by management tion on or about July 19, 1979. She, together with her coworkers, enlisted the organizational assistance of the Charging Party Union. She personally secured signed union membership cards from some 30 fellow employees in a unit of about 100 workers. A representation petition was filed with the Board. Brown together with cowork- er Noaker, as found, was questioned by Supervisor Bon- nett about her union activities. Brown also wore a union button at work. On the morning of August 14, patient Anderson to- gether with patient Lott related a complaint about aide Brown to Administrator Schimer. Anderson, a 97-year- old patient with skin cancer receiving radiation therapy and other medication, informed Schimer that she had been verbally and physically abused earlier that morning by an aide, later identified as Brown. Anderson's medical records show that she has at times been regarded as "confused" and "demanding." Further, as Director of Nurses Covert acknowledged, "there are frequent accu- sations by patients of employees abusing them." Patient Lott, as she testified, did not witness the alleged incident on August 14 involving Anderson. Lott, however, did relate to Schimer that some weeks prior she had over- heard Brown complaining to a coworker, apparently at the other side of a dividing curtain, that "I'd just like to beat the hell out of that Jean Anderson." Schimer pre- pared statements to be signed by both Anderson and Lott. Lott's statement contained an error of fact which Schimer caused to be "whited-out." Schimer. following this interview with Anderson and Lott, determined to discharge Brown without affording her any opportunity to explain what had happened. No effort was made by Schimer to interview the supervisory personnel or nonsupervisory personnel on duty at the time. No effort was made by Schimer to have the resi- dent physician examine Anderson in order to determine her condition as a result of this alleged physical abuse. And, although Anderson assertedly complained that she was dragged off the toilet before having finished, no effort was made by Schimer to verify this. Moreover, al- though Schimer determined to fire Brown at this time, he later interviewed another patient, Wolford, and caused her to sign a typed statement some 8 days later concerning this incident. Wolford's statement, like Lott's statement, contained errors of fact which had to be "whited-out." Wolford, at the time of the August 14 inci- dent, was in bed with a catheter in a nearby room. Wol- ford, as Schimer explained, experiences "small strokes" and at times she "cannot remember things." Director of Nurses Covert, who was not present at the meeting in Schimer's office attended by Lott and Ander- son, was instructed by Schimer to fire Brown on the morning of August 14. Covert claimed that she had at- tempted to "reach all the nurses who worked on the third shift that night" and the "two I was finally able to get ahold of . . . they were not aware of anything at all .... " Nevertheless, Covert terminated Brown that afternoon without affording her any opportunity to ex- plain first what if anything had happened that morning. Moreover, Covert. in handling patient abuse complaints against aides Dowdell and Noaker, treated them differ- DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ently than she had treated aide Brown. Thus, Dowdell had been accused of patient abuse on a number of occa- sions. On one such occasion, following Brown's firing, Dowdell was given an opportunity to explain what had happened. Noaker was similarly given an opportunity to explain what had happened. In both of these patient abuse complaint cases, the complaining patients, like An- derson, were regarded by Covert as "confused." Under all these circumstances, including the timing of Brown's discharge, her open and known union activities, the disparate treatment of the paitent abuse complaint lodged against her and the failure by Management to make any real investigation of this complaint, all per- suade me that the real reason for aide Brown's summary firing was under Union activities, as alleged, in violation of Section 8(a)(3) and (1) of the Act. CONCI.USIONS OF LAW 1. Respondent is an employer engaged in commerce as alleged. 2. Charging Party Union is a labor organization as al- leged. 3. Respondent violated Section 8(a)(1) and (3) of the Act by coercively interrogating employees about their union activities; by soliciting employee grievances and remedying same; and by discriminatorily discharging em- ployee Brown. 4. The unfair labor practices found above effect com- merce as alleged. REMEDY Having found that Respondent engaged in certain unfair labor practices, I recommend that it cease and desist therefrom and take certain affirmative action de- signed to effectuate the policies of the Act. It has been found that Respondent, in violation of Section 8(a)(3) and (1) of the Act, unlawfully terminated employee Brown on August 14, 1979. It will therefore be recom- mended that Respondent offer to employee Brown im- mediate and full reinstatement to her former or substan- tially equivalent position, without prejudice to her se- niority or other rights and privileges, and make her whole for any loss of earnings suffered by reason of this unlawful termination, by payment to her of a sum of money equal to that which she normally would have earned from the date of Respondent's discrimination to the date of Respondent's offer of reinstatement, less net earnings during such period, with backpay and interest thereon to be computed in the manner prescribed in F. W Woolworth Company, 90 NLRB 289 (1950), and Flor- ida Steel Corporation, 231 NLRB 651 (1977). 2 1 Further, it will be recommended that Respondent preserve and make available to the Board, upon request, all payroll re- cords and reports, and all other records necessary and useful to determine the amount of backpay due and the rights of reinstatement under the terms of these recom- mendations. Respondent will also be directed to post the attached notice. 21 See, generally, Isis Plumbing d Heating Co., 138 NLRB 716 (1962). Upon the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, and upon the entire record of the case, I hereby issue the following recommended: ORDER 2 2 The Respondent, Americana Health Care Corporation of Ohio d/b/a Barberton Manor, Akron, Ohio, its offi- cers, agents, successors, and assigns, shall: 1. Cease and desist from: (a) Coercively interrogating employees about their union activities. (b) Soliciting and remedying employee grievances in order to discourage employee union activities. (c) Discouraging membership in United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 698, AFL-CIO, or in any other labor organization, by discriminatorily dis- charging any of its employees or in any other manner discriminating against them with respect to their hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of em- ployment. (d) In any like or related manner interfering with, re- straining, or coercing its employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed them in Section 7 of the Act. 2. Take the following affirmative action designed to ef- fectuate the policies of the Act: (a) Offer employee Elizabeth A. Brown immediate and full reinstatement to her former job or to a substantially equivalent position without prejudice to her seniority or other rights and privileges, and make her whole for any loss of earnings in the manner set forth in this Decision. (b) Preserve and make available to the Board or its agents all payroll and other records, as set forth in this Decision. (c) Post at its offices and facility in Barberton, Ohio, copies of the attached notice marked "Appendix."23 Copies of said notice, on forms provided by the Regional Director for Region 8, after being duly signed by Re- spondent's representative, shall be posted by Respondent immediately upon receipt thereof, and be maintained by it for 60 consecutive days thereafter, in conspicuous places, including all places where notices to employees are customarily posted. Reasonable steps shall be taken by Respondent to insure that said notices are not altered, defaced, or covered by any other material. (d) Notify the Regional Director for Region 8, in writ- ing, within 20 days from the date of this Order, what steps Respondent has taken to comply herewith. 22 In the event no exceptions are filed as provided by Sec. 102.46 of the Rules and Regulations of the National Labor Relations Board the findings, conclusions, and recommended Order herein shall, as provided in Sec. 102.48 of the Rules and Regulations, be adopted by the Board and become its findings, conclusions, and Order, and all objections thereto shall be deemed waived for all purposes. 2' In the event that this Order is enforced by a Judgment of a United States Court of Appeals, the words in the notice reading "Posted by Order of the National Labor Relations Board" shall read "Posted Puru- sant to a Judgment of the United States Court of Appeals Enforcing and Order of the National Labor Relations Board." 392 BARBERTON MANOR APPENDIX NOTICE To EMPI.OY ES POSTED BY ORDER OF THE NATIONAL LABOR REIATIONS BOARD An Agency of the United States Government After a hearing in which both sides had the opportunity to present their evidence, the National Labor Relations Board has found that Americana Health Care Corpora- tion of Ohio d/b/a Barberton Manor, has violated the National Labor Relations Act and has ordered us to post this notice. We therefore notify you that: WE WILL NOT coercively interrogate our em- ployees about thier union activities. WE WILL NOT solicit and remedy our employees' grievances in order to discourage their union activi- ties. WE Wil.l. NOT discourage member in United Food and Commerical Workers Union, Local 698, AFL-CIO, or in any other labor oganization. by discriminatorily discharging any of our employees or in any other manner discriminating against them with respect to their hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment. WE: Wll. NOT in any like or related manner in- terfere with, restrain, or coerce our employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed them in Sec- tion 7 of the National Labor Relatons Act. WE Wll.I offer Elizabeth A. Brown immediate and full reinstatment to her former job or to a sub- stantially equivalent position without prejudice to her seniority or ohter rights and privileges and make her whole for any loss of earnings, as pro- vided in the Board's Decision and Order. AMERICANA HEAL.TH CARE CORPORATION OF OHIO D/B/A BARBERTON MANOR 393