The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to enforce most of a National Labor Relations Board (U.S. labor regulator) ruling that Starbucks illegally threatened employees seeking to unionize and implied it was monitoring organizing efforts. In a 2-0 decision, the New Orleans-based court rejected claims tied to a Wichita, Kansas, store’s hiring portal and reduced hours, but upheld a finding that Starbucks threatened to deny maternity leave benefits to a pregnant employee if workers unionized. Starbucks said it was encouraged by the ruling and remained committed to protecting employees’ legal rights while engaging directly with them. The decision came two days after a Manhattan federal appeals court overturned a separate NLRB finding involving union-supporting shirts and pins at a Starbucks store in the Meatpacking District. More than 700 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize, while employees have filed hundreds of complaints alleging illegal labor practices.