A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday overturned a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling that had determined Starbucks illegally barred employees at a flagship Manhattan store from wearing union-supporting t-shirts or multiple pins. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated that the labor board did not adequately balance Starbucks' interest in maintaining its brand image with workers' rights to encourage unionization.
At the 23,000-square-foot Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, employees are required to wear specific brown aprons and muted-color collared shirts or turtlenecks. They can also wear a limited number of pre-approved shirts and pins.
This decision is among recent rulings by U.S. appeals courts that have found the NLRB to have overstepped in determining that certain workplace dress codes infringed upon employees' rights to advocate for better working conditions and to join unions. Similar rulings have previously allowed Home Depot to prohibit "Black Lives Matter" on work aprons and Tesla to bar factory workers from wearing union t-shirts.
The 2nd Circuit panel concluded that the NLRB's previous standard, which deemed any policy prohibiting union paraphernalia unlawful unless an employer proved "special circumstances," rendered many common workplace dress codes illegal. The court emphasized the need to properly balance employers' legitimate interests, such as safety and public image, with their obligation to respect workers' labor rights.
The Manhattan store became one of the first Starbucks locations to unionize in 2022. Since then, workers at over 700 other U.S. stores have voted to join unions. The NLRB had previously ruled that prior to the Manhattan store unionizing, Starbucks had interfered with workers' rights by prohibiting union shirts and more than one pin, failing to demonstrate a legitimate justification for these policies.
The 2nd Circuit sent the case back to the labor board to apply a more balanced test. The NLRB's five-member board had a Democratic majority when it initially decided the case but now has a 3-1 Republican majority.