Wobbly-supporting Barista Remained NLRA-protected Despite Profane Customer-facing Outburst: NLRB | Practical Law
In Starbucks Corp., on remand from the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) affirmed that an off duty employee who openly supported the International Workers of the World (IWW or Wobblies) did not forfeit National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protections when he launched a profanity-laced outburst inside a Starbucks store, in front of customers. The NLRB affirmed its earlier conclusion that the resulting discharge was unlawful, this time applying its Wright Line mixed motive test and holding that Starbucks violated the NLRA because it discharged the employee motivated in part by his protected prounion activities.