Hannah Whitbeck worked as a shift supervisor at a Starbucks. She helped lead a union campaign, and a few months later, Starbucks fired her for leaving one employee alone in the store — a safety violation. The NLRB said that reason was pretext and that she was really fired because of her union activity. Yesterday, the 6th Circuit agreed.
But here's the BUT. While the appellate court agreed that Starbucks unlawfully fired a union organizer, it also held that the NLRB had seriously overstepped its authority when it awarded her significant monetary consequential damages.
The NLRB has been flexing its muscle under its recent Thryv decision, ordering employers to pay for all "direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms." That means not just back pay, but things like late fees, lost cars, mortgage penalties, and early retirement withdrawals — basically anything the fired worker could trace back to the unfair labor practice.
The 6th Circuit wrote that the NLRA only allows equitable remedies — reinstatement and back pay — not open-ended monetary damages. Letting the NLRB hand out those kinds of awards, he said, would run smack into the 7th Amendment's jury trial right.
In plain English: The NLRB can make someone whole, but it can't play civil court and start cutting checks for everything that might have gone wrong in someone's life after they were fired.
So, Starbucks loses the unfair labor practice battle, but the NLRB loses the bigger war over how far it can go to punish employers. As a result, Thryv is on life support, as the 6th Circuit has now joined with the 3rd and 5th Circuits in rejecting it.
If you're an employer facing an unfair labor practice charge, this decision matters. It reins in the Board's push to expand "make-whole" remedies beyond back pay. The NLRB can still order reinstatement and paychecks — but it can't tack on your employee's credit card late fees or car repossession.
But here's the BUT. While the appellate court agreed that Starbucks unlawfully fired a union organizer, it also held that the NLRB had seriously overstepped its authority when it awarded her significant monetary consequential damages.
The NLRB has been flexing its muscle under its recent Thryv decision, ordering employers to pay for all "direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms." That means not just back pay, but things like late fees, lost cars, mortgage penalties, and early retirement withdrawals — basically anything the fired worker could trace back to the unfair labor practice.
The 6th Circuit wrote that the NLRA only allows equitable remedies — reinstatement and back pay — not open-ended monetary damages. Letting the NLRB hand out those kinds of awards, he said, would run smack into the 7th Amendment's jury trial right.
In plain English: The NLRB can make someone whole, but it can't play civil court and start cutting checks for everything that might have gone wrong in someone's life after they were fired.
So, Starbucks loses the unfair labor practice battle, but the NLRB loses the bigger war over how far it can go to punish employers. As a result, Thryv is on life support, as the 6th Circuit has now joined with the 3rd and 5th Circuits in rejecting it.
If you're an employer facing an unfair labor practice charge, this decision matters. It reins in the Board's push to expand "make-whole" remedies beyond back pay. The NLRB can still order reinstatement and paychecks — but it can't tack on your employee's credit card late fees or car repossession.