The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear Starbucks' appeal of a court order requiring the coffee chain to rehire seven employees at one of its stores in Memphis, Tennessee, because a federal agency found they were fired for pro-union activities.
The baristas, dubbed the “Memphis Seven,” say they were fired for participating in a high-profile attempt to form a union and filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. A federal judge ordered Starbucks to rehire the workers in 2022, and a federal appeals court upheld the decision last year.
At issue is the standard used for injunctions sought by the NLRB in its litigation with employers in administrative proceedings.
Starbucks claims certain courts gave the NLRB too much leeway because the appeals courts' disparate rulings sent a mixed message to employees across the country, “unacceptably jeopardizing the uniformity of federal labor law,” Starbucks lawyers wrote to the Supreme Court.
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“We are pleased that the Supreme Court has decided to consider our request to level the playing field for all U.S. employers by ensuring that a single standard is applied when federal district courts decide whether to grant interim relief sought by the National Labor Relations Board 10(j) orders will be granted,” Starbucks said in a statement to CBS Moneywatch.
The seven workers were terminated after they publicly sent a letter to Starbucks' CEO and also sat down with a television news crew at their Memphis store in January 2022 to discuss their union work.
Starbucks claimed it terminated the workers because they violated a safety policy by opening the store without permission and allowing unauthorized people inside.
“With the Supreme Court agreeing to take up the Memphis case, Starbucks has just expanded its war on its own employees into a war against all U.S. workers. All working people should be appalled and join our fight to ensure companies are held accountable to the law,” Starbucks Workers United said in an emailed statement.
A decision in the case is expected to be made by the end of June.
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