Starbucks Barista’s Firing Deemed Unlawful by US Labor Board (1)

Starbucks Corp. must rehire a barista who was illegally fired for unionizing a cafe in Latham, N.Y., the National Labor Relations Board ruled.

A panel comprised of the NLRB’s three Democratic members held that managers at the location violated federal labor law by terminating that worker, overturning an agency judge’s decision to clear the company of the allegations.

The decision is dated Dec. 16, Democratic NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran’s last day at the board before her term expired. Rulings that exiting NLRB members participated in sometimes aren’t published until after their departures due to editing lags at the agency.

The ...