Starbucks’ Supreme Court Battle to Test Reach of Labor Board

Starbucks Corp.’s challenge to a court order requiring the company to rehire fired union activists is giving the US Supreme Court another opportunity to dial back federal agency power.

The coffee giant and National Labor Relations Board are set to appear before the justices April 23 to argue over how federal courts should treat the agency’s requests for such orders, which remain in place during the NLRB process for resolving the underlying unfair labor practice cases.

The NLRB seeks 10(j) injunctions—named after the section of the National Labor Relations Act that gives the agency that power—to protect or ...