Palace Sports & Entertainment, Inc. d/b/a St. Pete Times Forum f/k/a Tampa Bay Ice Palace - Decision Summary

Palace Sports & Entertainment, Inc. d/b/a St. Pete Times Forum f/k/a Tampa Bay Ice Palace (12-CA-21696, et al.; 342 NLRB No. 53) Tampa, FL July 27, 2004. The Board agreed with the administrative law judge that the Respondent violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act by prohibiting employees from talking about the Union except on nonworking time while permitting other conversation, interrogating employees regarding their knowledge of employee union activity and directing them to report upon the union activities of their coworkers, interrogating employees regarding their communications with the Board and threatening unspecified reprisals if employees cooperated in a Board investigation, and threatening employees with discharge because of their support for the Union. It also found that the Respondent violated Section 8(a)(1) and (3) by warning Peter Mullins on July 25, 2002 and discharging him on November 3, 2002 because of his union activities.

The Respondent contended that it discharged Mullins because of its apprehension of potential hostile environment sexual harassment liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, arising out of an encounter between Mullins and Alice Castillo, an employee of a vendor doing business on the Respondent’s premises. It appeared that Mullins initiated a conversation about the merits of unionization and when Castillo expressed some skepticism, Mullins called her a “Yankee bitch.” The Board agreed with the judge that Mullins’ comment did not constitute a sexual advance and that the Respondent failed to show that it would have discharged Mullins even in the absence of his union activity in order to avoid the imposition of the Title VII liability.

In related Case 12-CA-23038, the Regional Director issued a complaint alleging, in part, that the Respondent violated Section 8(a)(3) and (4) by discharging employee Thomas Roberts because of his union activities and because he cooperated in the Board’s investigation in this proceeding. The hearing in that case was postponed indefinitely pending the Board’s decision in this case. Subsequently, the Respondent filed a request for special permission to appeal Associate Chief Judge William Cates’ denial of its motion to proceed with the hearing or dismiss the complaint. Having now issued a decision, the Board granted the Respondent request for special permission to appeal and directed the Regional Director to schedule the hearing in Case 12-CA-23038.

(Members Liebman, Schaumber, and Walsh participated.)

Charges filed by Stage Employees and Thomas W. Roberts, an Individual; complaint alleged violation of Section 8(a)(1) and (3). Hearing at Tampa, May 27-29, 2003. Adm. Law Judge George Carson II issued his decision July 22, 2003.