B & L Plunbling

DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Fred Branch d/b/a B & L Plumbing and United As- sociation of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry, Local 598. Case 19-CA-10749 September 26, 1980 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND ORDER BY CHAIRMAN FANNING AND MEMBERS JENKINS AND PENELLO On August 2, 1979, the National Labor Relations Board issued a Decision and Order' in the above- entitled proceeding in which the Board, inter alia, ordered the Respondent to make whole certain em- ployees for any loss of pay suffered by reason of the Respondent's discrimination against them. A controversy having arisen over the amount of backpay due under the Board's Order, the Region- al Director for Region 19, on April 15, 1980, issued and thereafter duly served on the Respondent a backpay specification and notice of hearing, alleg- ing the amount of backpay due the discriminatees under the Board's Order and notifying the Re- spondent that it should file a timely answer com- plying with the Board's Rules and Regulations. The Respondent failed to file such an answer. Thereafter, on July 14, 1980, counsel for the General Counsel filed directly with the Board a Motion for Summary Judgment. Subsequently, on July 22, 1980, the Board issued an order transfer- ring the proceeding to the Board and Notice To Show Cause why the General Counsel's motion should not be granted. The Respondent failed to file a response to the Notice To Show Cause. 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. Upon the entire record in this proceeding, the Board makes the following: Ruling on the Motion for Summary Judgment Section 102.54 of the Board's Rules and Regula- tions, Series 8, as amended, provides, in pertinent part, as follows: (a) . . . The respondent shall, within 15 days from the service of the specification, if any, file an answer thereto.... * * * (c) . .. If the respondent fails to file any answer to the specification within the time prescribed by this section, the Board may, ' 243 NLRB 1016 252 NLRB No. 69 either with or without taking evidence in sup- port of the allegations of the specification and without notice to the respondent, find the specification to be true and enter such order as may be appropriate. The backpay specification, issued on April 15, 1980, and personally served on the Respondent on or about June 22, 1980, specifically states that the Respondent shall, within 15 days from the date of the specification, file with the Regional Director for Region 19 an answer to the specification and that, if the answer fails to deny the allegations of the specification in the manner required under the Board's Rules and Regulations and the failure to do so is not adequately explained, such allegations shall be deemed to be admitted to be true and the Respondent shall be precluded from introducing any evidence controverting them. As of July 14, 1980, the date of the Motion for Summary Judg- ment, the Respondent had filed no answer and to date has not indicated that it would file an answer. 2 The Respondent also failed to file a re- sponse to the Notice To Show Cause and, there- fore, the allegations of the Motion for Summary Judgment stand uncontroverted. As the Respond- ent has not filed an answer to the specification and has not offered any explanation for its failure to do so, the allegations of the specification, in accord- ance with the rules set forth above, are deemed to be admitted as true and are so found by the Board. Accordingly, the Board concludes that the net backpay due the discriminatees, Paul Lanno, Lynn Lawhon, and Tyrone Riggle, is as stated in the computations of the specification, and orders the payment thereof by the Respondent to the discri- minatees. ORDER Pursuant to Section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the National Labor Re- lations Board hereby orders that the Respondent, Fred Branch, d/b/a B & L Plumbing, Kennewick, Washington, his agents, successors, and assigns, shall make whole the discriminatees named below, by payment to them of the amounts following their names, plus interest thereon to be computed in the manner prescribed in Florida Steel Corporation, 231 NLRB 651 (1977),3 until payment of all backpay 2 In fact. in a telephone conversation with counsel for he General Counsel. the Respondent indicated that he did not intend to file an answer or appear at the scheduled hearing. a: See, generally. Isis Plumbing & Heating Co., 138 NLRB 716 (1962) Member Jenkins would compute interest (on backpay due in the manner set forth in his partial dissent in Olympic Medical Corporation, 250 NLRB No II t1980) 410 B & L PLUMBING due is made, less tax withholdings required by Fed- eral and state laws: Paul Lanno Lynn Lawhon Tyrone Riggle 411 $ 677.50 4.697.88 1,369.22