News & Commentary June 22, 2023 (NLRB affirms findings that Starbucks violated the NLRA)

[Omaha Steve]

https://onlabor.org/june-22-2023/

By Michelle Berger

Michelle Berger is a student at Harvard Law School.

In today’s News and Commentary: the NLRB affirms findings that Starbucks violated the NLRA; the Supreme Court denies cert in a case that sought to challenge the constitutionality of California’s worker classification law; and a new conservative nonprofit weighs in on unions.

On Tuesday, a bipartisan three-member panel of the NLRB affirmed an ALJ decision from last year that found Starbucks violated the NLRA in connection with its conduct at a retail store in Seattle. In the case, baristas had received subpoenas to testify at an NLRB representation hearing. The baristas alleged – and the ALJ found – that Starbucks management told them the subpoenas did not excuse them from work and that, if they missed work for the hearing, they would face discipline unless they could find someone to cover their shift. The ALJ concluded that Starbucks’ conduct interfered with the baristas rights and violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act.

Also on Tuesday, the Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari in a case seeking to strike down A.B. 5, the California law intended to prevent misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Petitioners contended that A.B. 5 is unconstitutional under the First Amendment for its application to political canvassers. The Court’s denial of cert puts an end to this particular attack against the law, which has been a lightning rod for attacks from business interests in California. I wrote about A.B. 5 in the context of a constitutional challenge to the law on equal protection grounds in March.

FULL story at link above.