Second Circuit Rejects NLRB's Tesla Dress Code Test: What the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Ruling Means for Employer Uniform Policies Under the NLRA

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (which oversees Connecticut, New York, and Vermont) recently issued a decision that could make it meaningfully easier for employers to defend workplace dress code and uniform policies against unfair labor practice challenges under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The court rejected the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB or Board) current framework — established in its 2022 decision in Tesla, Inc. — for evaluating employer policies that restrict employees' ability to display union insignia, buttons, or messaging at work, and remanded the case for the Board to apply a different standard.