## Facts

- Two employees, Davis and Harmon, sought to organize employees at Burnup & Sims’s plant.
- Another employee reported that, while soliciting him for the union, Davis and Harmon threatened that the union would use dynamite to get in if it did not secure authorizations.
- The employer discharged Davis and Harmon because of the alleged threats.
- In an unfair labor practice proceeding, the NLRB found the accusations untrue and found no threats were made.
- The Board concluded the discharges violated NLRA §§ 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(3), rejecting good-faith belief as a defense.
- The court of appeals denied reinstatement, holding the discharges were lawful because the employer acted in good faith.

## Issues

1. Whether an employer violates NLRA § 8(a)(1) by discharging employees engaged in protected organizing activity based on alleged serious misconduct that did not occur, even if the employer acted on a good-faith but mistaken belief.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals and enforced the NLRB’s order on the ground that § 8(a)(1) was violated.
- The Court held that discharging employees for alleged misconduct committed during protected activity violates § 8(a)(1) if the misconduct did not in fact occur, regardless of the employer’s good-faith belief.
- The Court found it unnecessary to decide whether § 8(a)(3) was also violated.

## Legal Principles

- Section 8(a)(1) is violated where: (1) the employee was engaged in protected activity, (2) the employer knew it, (3) the discharge was based on alleged misconduct in the course of that activity, and (4) the employee was not in fact guilty of the misconduct.
- For § 8(a)(1), the interference with § 7 organizational rights can be established without proof of anti-union motive when the employer’s action would tend to deter protected activity.
- An employer’s good-faith mistake about misconduct is not a defense when the asserted misconduct is disproved and the discharge is tied to protected organizing conduct.

## Conclusion

The Court held that NLRA § 8(a)(1) protects employees from discharge based on false allegations of misconduct arising out of protected organizing activity, and that an employer’s good-faith belief in those allegations does not prevent a finding of unlawful interference with § 7 rights.


Labor Bd. v. Burnup & Sims, Inc., 379 U.S. 21 (1964)