National Labor Relations Board v. A-Plus Roofing, Inc. Phyllis Wesson

This case arises out of years of effort by the NLRB and Roofers’ Local Union No. 40 (“the Union”) to obtain documents from an employer relevant to the Union’s collective bargaining agreement. The failure to produce documents has resulted in civil and criminal contempt proceedings, first against the employer, and later against the employer’s secretary, Phyllis Wesson.

We appointed a special master, U.S. Magistrate F. Steele Langford, to conduct the contempt trial, and must now rule on his recommendations. We approve the magistrate’s recommendation that the employer, A-Plus Roofing, be held in civil contempt. However, because the magistrate was statutorily barred from assuming jurisdiction over the criminal portion of this case, we cannot rule on his criminal recommendations. Instead, we must start from scratch and refer the matter to a new special master.

I

Respondent A-Plus Roofing is or was a small roofing construction firm. A-Plus was principally owned and operated by Carey Fabiani. At all times relevant, Fabiani’s wife, Phyllis Wesson, was the corporate secretary of A-Plus.

On May 20, 1988, John Carnagey, the attorney for Roofers’ Local Union No. 40 (“the Union”), mailed a…