Beverly Health & Rehabilitation Services, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

317 F.3d 316, 354 U.S. App. D.C. 414, 171 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3017, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 1750
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedJanuary 31, 2003
DocketNo. 01-1405
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 317 F.3d 316 (Beverly Health & Rehabilitation Services, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beverly Health & Rehabilitation Services, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, 317 F.3d 316, 354 U.S. App. D.C. 414, 171 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3017, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 1750 (D.C. Cir. 2003).

Opinion

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge KAREN LeCRAFT HENDERSON.

KAREN LeCRAFT HENDERSON, Circuit Judge:

Beverly Health & Rehabilitation Services, Inc., which operates approximately 950 nursing homes nationwide, and its subsidiary Beverly Enterprises — Pennsylvania (collectively Beverly) seek review of a decision of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board). The Board concluded that Beverly committed various unfair labor practices (ULPs) at 20 nursing homes Beverly operates in Pennsylvania in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (Act), 29 U.S.C. §§ 151 et seq. See Beverly Health & Rehab. Servs., Inc., 335 N.L.R.B. No. 54, 2001 WL 1076116 (Aug. 27, 2001) (NLRB Dec.). In its decision, the Board directed Beverly to post two separate remedial notices: one at all of the Pennsylvania nursing homes involved in this proceeding and a second at all of Beverly’s nursing homes nationwide. Beverly challenges seven of the Board’s ULP findings as well as the nationwide scope of the remedy. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude the petition should be granted as to two ULPs-those based on Beverly’s refusal to rehire striking employees and its videotaping of picketing employees. In all other respects, the petition for review should be denied.1

I.

In the fall of 1994 Beverly and District 1199P of the Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO (Union) were negotiating new collective bargaining agreements for employees at the 20 Pennsylvania nursing homes in this case. At the time, bargaining units at all but three of the facilities were covered by agreements set to expire on November 30, 1994, units at two other homes were covered by agreements set to expire on December 31, 1994 and the remaining unit was newly certified and not yet covered by an agreement. Negotiations continued until Spring 1996.

Beginning on February 13, 1996 the Union’s locals filed a series of ULP charges, all of which were ultimately consolidated into one complaint. On November 26, 1997 the ALJ issued a decision finding Beverly committed numerous ULPs and ordering Beverly to cease and desist and to post notices at all of the nursing homes [320]*320involved. NLRB Dec. at 41. The ALJ specifically reserved for a supplemental proceeding the determination “whether remedies should extend to any or all of the interrelated Beverly Companies.” Id. He issued a supplemental decision on November 30, 1999 which recommended a single cease-and-desist order to be posted at all of Beverly’s facilities nationwide. NLRB Dec. at 43-59. Beverly filed exceptions to the ALJ’s decisions on December 28, 1999.

The Board issued a decision dated August 27, 2001 in which it “affirm[ed] the judge’s rulings, findings, and conclusions.” NLRB Dec. at 1. The Board revised the remedy to require two separate notices, one addressing the particular ULPs in this case to be posted only at the 20 subject Pennsylvania facilities (and corporate offices overseeing them), id. at 14-17 (App. A), and a broader one to be posted company-wide, id. at 17-18 (App. B).

Beverly filed a petition for review on September 9, 2001. The Board filed a cross-application for enforcement on November 8, 2001.

II.

Beverly challenges seven of the ULP findings as well as the company-wide scope of the remedy. “We will affirm the judgment of the Board unless, ‘upon reviewing the record as a whole, [this Court] concluded] that the Board’s findings are not supported by substantial evidence, or that the Board acted arbitrarily or otherwise erred in applying established law to the facts of the case.’ ” Tradesmen Int’l, Inc. v. NLRB, 275 F.3d 1137, 1141 (D.C.Cir.2002) (quoting International Union of Electronic, Elec., Salaried, Mach. & Furniture Workers v. NLRB, 41 F.3d 1532, 1536 (D.C.Cir.1994)). We apply this standard to each of Beverly’s contentions seriatim.

A. Refusal to Reinstate Striking Employees

First, Beverly contests the ALJ’s finding, summarily affirmed by the Board, that Beverly violated the Act by failing to promptly reinstate 450 employees after a three-day strike the Union began on April 1, 1996. Beverly contends the strike was unlawful because the Union failed to comply with the statutory notice requirement in section 8(g) of the Act, 29 U.S.C. § 158(g). We agree and, accordingly, conclude that Beverly was under no duty to rehire the workers who participated in the unlawful strike.

Section 8(g) provides:

(g) Notification of intention to strike or picket at any health care institution
A labor organization before engaging in any strike, picketing, or other concerted refusal to work at any health care institution shall, not less than ten days prior to such action, notify the institution in writing and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service of that intention, except that in the case of bargaining for an initial agreement following certification or recognition the notice required by this subsection shall not be given until the expiration of the period specified in clause (B) of the last sentence of subsection (d) of this section. The notice shall state the date and time that such action will commence. The notice, once given, may be extended by the written agreement of both parties.

29 U.S.C. § 158(g). On March 14 and 15, 1996 Union locals sent notices to fifteen facilities that they intended to strike at 7:00 a.m. on March 29. On March 27, however, the Union sent a second notice purporting to extend the strike deadline 71 hours to 6:00 a.m. on Monday April 1. NLRB Dec. at 37. In a letter dated [321]*321March 28, 1996 Beverly responded that it considered the March 27 notification a new notice requiring an additional 10 days before the Union workers could lawfully strike under section 8(g).

Before the ALJ Beverly again asserted the strike was unlawful under section 8(g). The ALJ rejected Beverly’s defense because the Board’s “clear and consistent precedent,” tracing to its pre-Chevron decision in Greater New Orleans Artificial Kidney Center, 240 N.L.R.B. 432, 1979 WL 8714 (1979), construed section 8(g) to permit a union to unilaterally extend a strike deadline for up to 72 hours. We review the board’s construction of section 8(g) under the familiar Chevron analysis:

If “ ‘Congress has directly spoken to the precise question at issue,’ ” we “must give effect to Congress’s ‘unambiguously expressed intent.’ ” Secretary of Labor v. [Fed. Mine Safety & Health Review Comm’n], 111 F.3d 913, 917 (D.C.Cir.1997) (quoting Chevron USA Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 842-43, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 2781, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984)).

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Bluebook (online)
317 F.3d 316, 354 U.S. App. D.C. 414, 171 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3017, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 1750, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beverly-health-rehabilitation-services-inc-v-national-labor-relations-cadc-2003.