The United States Supreme Court Sides With Starbucks

On Thursday, June 13, 2024, the United States Supreme Court rendered an 8-1 decision to overturn the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s approval of an injunction that was sought by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Starbucks. This injunction ordered Starbucks to reinstate seven Memphis-based employees, known as the Memphis Seven, who were terminated after attempting to unionize their Starbucks location in 2022. These efforts included publicly posting a letter addressed to the company’s CEO and televised a sit down in the store – actions that constituted violations of the coffee chain’s written policies. After these terminations, workers at the location later voted to join the Workers United union, which then filed unfair-labor charges against Starbucks through the NLRB. The NLRB then sought an injunction to reinstate the workers in federal district court. The purpose of the injunction was to keep the workers employed while the NLRB’s administrative case against Starbucks proceeded  – a process that could take years to complete.

Prior to this case, lower courts have been split on the standard to apply when issuing such injunctions. Starbucks had argued that a four-factor test should be applied, a similar standard for preliminary injunctions applied to non-labor disputes. This higher standard includes (1) an assessment of whether the side seeking relief would suffer irreparable harm and (2) if they are likely to succeed on the merits of the case. The NLRB proffered a more lenient standard which would allow an injunction if it was “just and proper” based on the facts of the case. The Supreme Court’s ruling ultimately rejected the more lenient standard proffered by the NLRB, instead requiring courts to apply the more stringent standard. The decision ultimately makes it more difficult for the NLRB to immediately block alleged unfair labor practices as they are litigated in a sometimes years-long administrative process.

For questions regarding the Supreme Court’s decision or any other labor and employment matter, please contact any of the attorneys at Hoffman & Hlavac.  To stay updated on key labor and employment law developments that affect your workplace, be sure to subscribe to this blog and follow us on social media!