A Towson construction company owner faces arrest after a federal judge in Delaware found he failed to comply with multiple court orders related to complaints of unfair labor practices.
U.S. District Judge Richard Andrews on Friday issued an arrest warrant for George Brunson, chief executive officer of New World Construction, ordering him held in custody until he complies with the subpoenas and provides the information sought by the National Labor Relations Board.
Andrews found Brunson in civil contempt of court and levied more than $38,000 in fines to be paid to the board.
The National Labor Relations Board has been investigating Brunson since 2022, after a Delaware arm of the Laborers International Union of North America said he fired two employees because of their union membership. The union also said Brunson failed to bargain in good faith.
Documents in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware lay out a timeline given by the labor relations board, which says Brunson didn’t comply with its requests at any point. According to the documents:
An attorney with the union reached out to Brunson in August 2022, asking Brunson for the names, hours, pay and earnings of all employees. The attorney asked Brunson, who had signed an agreement with the union, to submit the information by early October of that year.
Brunson did not, and field examiners with the board’s regional office reached out to Brunson in mid-November, saying they were investigating his alleged violation of labor practices. The union had said he was “repudiating the collective bargaining agreement,” according to court records. By then, there were two unfair labor practice proceedings pending before the labor relations board.
The field examiner asked Brunson to submit the same information the union had requested by early December and to schedule affidavits within the next few days. He did neither.
When the field examiner did get hold of him, Brunson told them to contact his attorney, Samuel Curry — only Curry was not representing him, according to court records.
In 2023, the board filed another unfair labor charge and filed in federal court in Delaware in August of that year to enforce the subpoenas. But Brunson was still refusing to provide documents or testimony, according to court records, preventing attorneys from investigating properly.
Representatives of the board tried to reach him multiple times, increasing their ask to documents showing the organizational structure of the company, contracts it had with governments and agencies, and revenue.
They also asked for the company’s purchase orders, invoices, journal ledgers, credit card records, canceled checks and bills of lading, Brunson’s and the company’s federal, state and local income tax returns, and insurance contracts.
The attorneys sent the subpoena only to his business address in Towson at first.
Brunson signed for the subpoenas each time, court records show. He always failed to appear and produce documents. He did so twice in May and June before the board first asked the court to issue an order to appear.
The court ordered him to comply in September of last year. Then the attorneys again issued multiple subpoenas, again signed multiple times. He did not appear in court or turn over the requested documents, court records show.
At the end of last year, as Brunson’s refusal was impeding the investigation, the board asked the court to issue another order. The court agreed in January.
This time, copies of the order were sent to his business addresses in Maryland and Delaware. Signatures were obtained for the orders. Brunson did not reply.
In March, the board asked the court to issue noncompliance fees, which the court granted in April. The board attempted to serve the orders to three addresses.
Brunson called board attorney Jun Bang a few days later. In a call with Bang and attorney Caroline Flack on April 17, he confirmed his email address, cellphone number and primary addresses. Bang and Flack told him the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware had issued three orders against him: one to enforce the board’s investigative subpoenas, two in contempt for noncompliance.
He agreed then to file a stipulation and to provide a statement on Zoom on April 24. Bang emailed him the draft stipulation and the Zoom link.
The attorney followed up the next day to confirm he had received the draft stipulation, and they agreed to talk the following morning.
But Bang did not hear from Brunson. Calls went straight to voicemail; texts went unanswered. Bang emailed Brunson that the court’s order required production of documents by April 21. Failure or refusal to do so, Bang told him, would mean Brunson would have to provide testimony in person.
He did not submit any documents, nor did he communicate with Bang until a 5:55 a.m. email the day he was supposed to give a statement, in which he said he was “in the process of seeking legal advice.”
Brunson does not have an attorney listed in court records. He could not be reached for comment Friday evening.
Brunson was served with another letter to appear at the board’s regional office in Philadelphia. That message said, if he failed to comply, the board would ask the court to issue a warrant for his arrest.
On May 8, Bang waited from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., hoping he would show up to provide his statement and documents. He did not.
He still hasn’t.
