2nd Circuit rejects NLRB’s Tesla dress code standard: Key takeaways for employers

On September 2, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit issued its decision in Siren Retail Corp. v. NLRB, No. 24-3168, granting Starbucks’ petition for review and denying enforcement of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) finding that the company’s workplace dress code policies constituted unfair labor practices under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). 

Background

The case arose from a 2022 incident in which employees at a Starbucks Reserve Roastery in New York City wore union-branded shirts during a national organizing campaign. This prompted enforcement of the company’s existing dress code, which prohibited employees from wearing, while at work, (1) more than one union button; (2) buttons or pins that advocate for political, religious, or personal issues; and (3) shirts with writings that were not pre-approved by Starbucks. 

At the core of the dispute was the NLRB’s reliance on its 2022 Tesla, Inc. decision, which established a rebuttable presumption that all employer-mandated dress codes limiting the display of union insignia, including partial restrictions, are presumptively unlawful, and which required employers to demonstrate that their policies were “narrowly tailored” to serve articulated special circumstances.

Appeals court’s decision