Case: Labor Relations/Refusal to Bargain (N.L.R.B.)

The National Labor Relations Board affirmed a ruling that Starbucks violated the National Labor Relations Act by changing dress code policy enforcement without providing the union an opportunity to bargain. The board majority upheld the administrative law judge’s conclusion that Starbucks unilaterally changed a mandatory subject of bargaining by more strictly enforcing its dress code policy without providing the union with prior notice and an opportunity to bargain, and unlawfully issued discipline on employees as a result. In a footnote, one board member said he didn’t believe that the NLRB General Counsel had adequately established that the company had unlawfully ...