The National Labor Relations Board has not shown the need for a preliminary injunction ordering Starbucks to rehire employees while the Board proceeds with its administrative complaint alleging an unfair labor practice against the coffeehouse chain, the U.S. Supreme Court decided June 13, 2024, in Starbucks Corporation v. McKinney. The Supreme Court held that courts should analyze the NLRB’s petitions for preliminary injunctions under the same four-factor test that they use in other cases. The Justices rejected the NLRB’s argument that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) directs judges to apply a more lenient standard to the agency’s petitions than they would ordinarily use for preliminary injunction requests. This decision settles a split among federal circuit courts as to the proper standard for awarding preliminary injunctions to the NLRB under Section 10(j) of the NLRA. This standard will make it more difficult for the NLRB to compel employers to reinstate workers fired during labor disputes while it reviews allegations of unfair labor practices. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote an opinion concurring in the judgment but also dissenting in part.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.