Countywide Landfill

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 14, 2008

353 N.L.R.B. 49 (N.L.R.B. 2008)

353 NLRB No. 49
Gibraltar Land Company d/b/a Countywide
Landfill and Local 324, International Union
of Operating Engineers, AFL–CIO. Case 7–
CA–49546
NOVEMBER 14, 2008
BY CHAIRMAN SCHAUMBER AND MEMBER LIEBMAN
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND ORDER
The General Counsel seeks default judgment in
this case on the ground that the Respondent has failed
to file an answer to the second amended compliance
specification.
On January 24, 2008, the Board issued a Decision
and Order1 that, among other things, ordered the Re-
spondent, Gibraltar Land Company d/b/a Countywide
Landfill, to make whole discriminatees Reginald
Truitt, James Howard, and David Spurr for any loss
of earnings and other benefits resulting from the Re-
spondent’s unfair labor practices in violation of Sec-
tion 8(a)(5) and (1) of the Act. On June 10, 2008, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
entered its judgment enforcing the Board’s Order.2
A controversy having arisen over the amount of
backpay due the discriminatees, on September 22,
2008, the Regional Director issued a second amended
compliance specification and notice of hearing alleg-
ing the amount of backpay due under the Board’s Or-
der, and notifying the Respondent that it should file an
answer by October 14, 2008, complying with the
Board’s Rules and Regulations. Although properly
served with a copy of the second amended compliance
specification, the Respondent failed to file an answer.3
On October 10, 2008, the General Counsel filed
with the Board a Motion for Default Judgment, with
exhibits attached. Thereafter, on October 16, 2008,
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
second amended compliance specification are there-
fore undisputed.

1 352 NLRB No. 3 (2008).
2 Case. 08–1370.
3 On June 25 and August 13, 2008, the Regional Director issued
and served on the Respondent a compliance specification and
amended compliance specification, respectively. On July 16 and
25, August 27, and September 5, 2008, respectively, the Respon-
dent filed an answer, first amended answer, answer to amended
compliance specification, and first amended answer to amended
compliance specification. By letters dated October 1 and 7, 2008,
the Respondent withdrew all of its answers to the compliance
specification and amended compliance specification and stated that
it would not file an answer to the second amended compliance
specification.
Ruling on Motion for Default Judgment4
Section 102.56(a) of the Board’s Rules and Regu-
lations provides that the respondent shall file an an-
swer within 21 days from service of a compliance
specification. Section 102.56(c) provides that if the
respondent fails to file any answer to the specifica-
tion 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 Default Judgment, the Respondent, de-
spite having been advised of the filing requirements,
has failed to file an answer to the second amended
compliance specification. In the absence of good
cause for the Respondent’s failure to file an answer,
we deem the allegations in the second amended com-
pliance specification to be admitted as true, and we
grant the General Counsel’s Motion for Default
Judgment. Accordingly, we conclude that the
amounts of backpay due the discriminatees are as
stated in the second amended compliance specifica-
tion, and we will order the Respondent to pay those
amounts, plus interest accrued to the date of payment.
ORDER
The National Labor Relations Board orders that the
Respondent, Gibraltar Land Company d/b/a County-
wide Landfill, Trenton, Michigan, its officers, agents,
successors, and assigns, shall make whole discrimi-
natees Reginald Truitt, James Howard, and David
Spurr by paying them the amounts following their
names, plus interest accrued to the date of payment,
as prescribed in New Horizons for the Retarded, 283
NLRB 1173 (1987), minus tax withholdings required
by Federal and State laws:
Reginald Truitt $63,010.04
James Howard 16,731.00
David Spurr 0.005
TOTAL BACKPAY: $79,741.04

4 Effective midnight December 28, 2007, Members Liebman,
Schaumber, Kirsanow, and Walsh delegated to Members Liebman,
Schaumber, and Kirsanow, as a three-member group, all of the
Board’s powers in anticipation of the expiration of the terms of
Members Kirsanow and Walsh on December 31, 2007. Pursuant
to this delegation, Chairman Schaumber and Member Liebman
constitute a quorum of the three-member group. As a quorum,
they have the authority to issue decisions and orders in unfair labor
practice and representation cases. See Sec. 3(b) of the Act.
5 As set forth in the second amended compliance specification,
David Spurr would not have been employed during the period
commencing June 18, 2006, the day he was unlawfully laid off,
due to a lack of bargaining unit work. Therefore, he is not entitled
to receive any backpay.