A federal appeals court ruled on September 2 that Starbucks did not violate labor laws by barring workers at its flagship Manhattan store from wearing union t-shirts and multiple pins, overturning a National Labor Relations Board decision in a case with significant implications for New York City workplaces.

The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the NLRB failed to properly balance Starbucks’ ability to present its preferred image to customers with workers’ rights to encourage unionizing. The court reversed the board’s 2024 ruling and sent the case back for reconsideration under what it called a more evenly measured balancing test.

The case centered on the 23,000-square-foot Starbucks store in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, which includes an on-site roastery, coffee and cocktail bars, a bakery, and retail space. Workers there wear brown aprons and collared shirts in muted colors rather than the company’s standard green aprons, reflecting what the company described as a steampunk hipster aesthetic.

The store became one of the first Starbucks locations to unionize in 2022. Since then, workers at more than 700 U.S. stores have voted to join unions and filed hundreds of complaints with the NLRB accusing the company of illegal labor practices.

The ruling is the latest by an appeals court to find that the labor board went too far in restricting workplace dress codes. A St. Louis-based court last year ruled that Home Depot could bar employees from writing Black Lives Matter on their aprons, and in 2023 another court said Tesla could prohibit union t-shirts at its California factory.

The NLRB had argued that any policy prohibiting union paraphernalia was unlawful unless an employer could prove special circumstances justify restrictions. The 2nd Circuit said that test rendered many common workplace dress codes illegal and failed to properly weigh employers’ legitimate interests.

The five-member labor board had a Democratic majority when it first decided the case but now has a 3-1 Republican majority appointed by President Trump. Starbucks and a spokesman for the labor board did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

For New York City’s large retail and hospitality workforce, the ruling clarifies that employers have broad authority to maintain dress code policies, even at unionized locations, as long as they can articulate legitimate business reasons for the restrictions.

Sources: NY Post, 2nd Circuit Court Opinion