Starbucks Loses Appeal Over Baristas' Firing In NLRB Case

A federal appeals court largely rejected Starbucks' challenge to a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling that the coffee chain illegally fired two Philadelphia baristas for attempting to organize a union.

Substantial evidence supported the conclusion that Starbucks engaged in unfair labor practices by firing Echo Nowakowska and Tristan Bussiere and by reducing Nowakowska’s hours.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the NLRB's findings, Jonathan Stempel reported for Reuters.

In the decision, Circuit Judge Thomas Ambro wrote that substantial evidence supported the conclusion that Starbucks engaged in unfair labor practices by firing Echo Nowakowska and Tristan Bussiere and by reducing Nowakowska’s hours.

The court also rejected Starbucks’ argument that it did not need to rehire the baristas with back pay because it only discovered their unauthorized recordings of meetings with supervisors after the firings.

However, the court ruled that the NLRB exceeded its authority by ordering Starbucks to compensate the baristas for additional foreseeable expenses, such as job search costs and out-of-pocket medical expenses.

This decision could be a setback for other companies, including Amazon, Trader Joe’s, and SpaceX, that have sought to challenge the NLRB's enforcement powers.