United States First Circuit

Petition for review of an NLRB decision finding that employer engaged in unfair labor practices in violation of section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA when it refused to hire six school bus drivers who wrote certain critical letters and e-mail messages to a school district is denied over employer's claims that: 1) it could not have violated section 8(a)(1) because this provision applies to conduct by an "employer" against "employees" and, at the time the discriminatees wrote their letters, they were neither employed nor had applied for employment; 2) the NLRB erred in finding the discriminatees protected by the Act because the letters they sent were not "concerted activity"; and 3) even if the discriminatees engaged in concerted activity, they lost the protection otherwise afforded to them by the Act based on their actions.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/31/2008
• Published 03/31/2008

Judges

• TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge., Before TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge, CYR, Senior Circuit Judge, and LYNCH, Circuit Judge.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert L. Dambrov, with whom Cooley, Shrair P.D. was on brief, for petitioner., David B. Rome, Laurie R. Houle, and Pyle, Rome, Lichten, Ehrenberg & Liss-Riordan, P.C. were on brief, for intervenor Transportation Division, United Food & Commercial Workers, Local 1459, AFL-CIO.


• For Appellees:
  
• Philip A. Hostak, Attorney, National Labor Relations Board, with whom Robert J. Englehart, Supervisory Attorney, were on brief, for respondent.