Steere Dairy, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 21, 1981

257 N.L.R.B. 879 (N.L.R.B. 1981)

STEERE DAIRY, INC.
Steere Dairy, Inc. and David L. Watkins. Case 6-
CA-10661
August 21, 1981
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND
ORDER
BY MEMBERS FANNING, JENKINS, AND
ZIMMERMAN
On August 25, 1978, the National Labor Rela-
tions Board issued its Decision and Order' wherein
it ordered Respondent to offer reinstatement to,
and make whole, David L. Watkins for loss of pay
suffered by reason of Respondent's discrimination
against him. On August 14, 1979, the United States
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit entered a
judgment2 summarily enforcing the Board's Order.
A controversy having arisen over the amount of
backpay due the discriminatee under the terms of
the Board's Decision and Order, the Regional Di-
rector for Region 6, on March 4, 1981, issued a
backpay specification and notice of hearing alleg-
ing the amount of backpay due. Respondent failed
to file an answer to the specification.
On April 13, 1981, counsel for the General
Counsel filed directly with the Board a Motion for
Summary Judgment. Subsequently, on April 16,
1981, the Board issued an order transferring the
proceeding to the Board and a Notice to Show
Cause why the Regional Director's Motion for
Summary Judgment should not be granted. Re-
spondent failed to file a response to the Notice To
Show Cause and, accordingly, the allegations in
the Motion for Summary Judgment stand uncon-
troverted.
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 National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations, 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
'237 NLRB 1350.
2 NL.R.B. v. Steere Dairy, No. 79-1084.
this section, the Board may, either with or
without taking evidence in support of the alle-
gations of the specification and without notice
to the respondent, find the specification to be
true and enter such order as may be appropri-
ate ...
The backpay specification and notice of hearing,
duly served on Respondent by certified mail on or
about March 4, 1981, specifically states that if an
answer to the backpay specification is not filed
within 15 days from the date of service thereof,
"such allegations shall be deemed to be admitted to
be true and Respondent shall be precluded from in-
troducing any evidence controverting them." Fur-
ther, by letter dated March 24, 1981, Respondent's
attorney of record was notified that an answer to
the backpay specification had not been filed, and
that summary judgment would be sought unless an
answer was received immediately. Respondent's at-
torney, by letter dated March 26, 1981, notified
counsel for the Regional Director that he had
withdrawn from this case. By letter dated March
27, 1981, Respondent was notified that an answer
had not been filed in accordance with Section
102.20 of the Board's Rules and Regulations, and
that unless an answer was received immediately a
Motion for Summary Judgment would be filed. Re-
spondent has not filed an answer to the backpay
specification or to the Notice To Show Cause and,
in accordance with the rule set forth above, the al-
legations in the backpay specification are deemed
to be admitted and are found to be true. Accord-
ingly, we grant the General Counsel's Motion for
Summary Judgment.
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,
Steere Dairy, Inc., Meadville, Pennsylvania, its of-
ficers, agents, successors, and assigns, shall make
whole discriminatee David L. Watkins, the em-
ployee named below, by payment to him of the
amount set forth adjacent to his name, plus interest
to be computed in the manner specified in Florida
Steel Corporation,3 231 NLRB 651 (1977), until pay-
ment of all backpay due, less tax withholding re-
quired by Federal and state laws:
David L. Watkins $5,705.74
3 In accordance with his dissent in Olympic Medical Corporation, 250
NLRB 146 (1980), Member Jenkins would award interest on the backpay
due based on the formula set forth therein.
257 NLRB No. 124
879