Key facts
- A U.S. appeals court rejected most of a National Labor Relations Board ruling that found Starbucks illegally threatened employees for unionizing.
- The court upheld a finding that Starbucks illegally threatened to deny maternity leave benefits to a pregnant employee if workers unionized.
- The court found that statements about a hiring pause and reduced hours were not illegal threats.
- The ruling involved a case concerning a Starbucks store in Wichita, Kansas.
- Over 700 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize, with numerous complaints filed against the company for alleged illegal labor practices.
A federal appeals court on Friday largely rejected a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling that found Starbucks had illegally threatened employees and surveilled unionization efforts. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-0 decision, overturned claims that the coffee chain violated labor law by telling employees that a hiring portal closure and reduced store hours were due to union activities.
However, the New Orleans-based court did uphold one finding: that Starbucks illegally threatened to deny maternity leave benefits to a pregnant employee if workers unionized. Circuit Judge Stephen Higginson stated that the statements regarding the hiring portal and store hours did not constitute "threats of reprisal" because a hiring pause did not appear to jeopardize job security, and understaffing could have justified shorter hours. Higginson also found that statements made by a store manager about unionization discussions were not coercive and were "out of the ordinary."
Despite these findings, the court determined there was substantial evidence that the pregnant employee could reasonably believe her benefits might be reduced due to union activities. This decision follows another recent ruling where a different federal appeals court in Manhattan reversed an NLRB finding that Starbucks illegally barred employees from wearing union-supporting t-shirts or pins. That court cited the NLRB's failure to properly balance Starbucks' image with employees' right to encourage unionizing.
Employees at over 700 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize, and hundreds of complaints alleging illegal labor practices have been filed with the NLRB.