12:32 PM EDT, 06/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with additional details in the third to fifth paragraphs and adds the company statement and NLRB declining to comment in the last two paragraphs.)

The US Supreme Court sided Thursday with Starbucks ( SBUX ) over the National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB, in a case involving the termination of a group of pro-union employees.

The NLRB sought and was granted by a district court judge a preliminary injunction that would force Starbucks ( SBUX ) to reinstate the employees. That ruling was then upheld by a federal appeals court, but the Supreme Court ruled that the NLRB's "attempt to salvage the reasonable-cause standard using statutory context" failed.

The Supreme Court vacated the injunction and remanded the case in its Thursday ruling.

"When Congress empowers courts to grant equitable relief, there is a strong presumption that courts will exercise that authority in a manner consistent with traditional principles of equity," said Justice Clarence Thomas in the opinion. "For preliminary injunctions, the four criteria identified in Winter encompass the relevant equitable principles."

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said in a separate opinion that she agreed with the judgment but disagreed with some parts.

"We will continue to focus making progress toward our goal of reaching ratified contracts for represented stores this year," Starbucks ( SBUX ) said in an emailed comment to MT Newswires. "Consistent federal standards are important in ensuring that employees know their rights and consistent labor practices are upheld."

The National Labor Relations Board declined to comment.

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