STARBUCKS has been ordered by a United States federal labour judge to reinstate seven fired workers, reopen a location and stop infringing on workers’ rights after finding that the company violated labour laws.

The violations are said to have taken place “hundreds of times” during a unionisation campaign in Buffalo, New York.

The decision issued late on Wednesday by Administrative Law Judge Michael Rosas of the National Labour Relations Board requires Starbucks to post a 13-page notice listing its labour violations and workers’ rights in all US stores.

The order also requires Starbucks interim chief executive officer Howard Schultz to read or be present at a reading of employees’ rights and distribute a recording of the reading to all of Starbucks’ US employees.

Starbucks said on Wednesday that it believes the decision and the remedies ordered are inappropriate and is considering its legal options. 

But Michelle Eisen, a Starbucks barista and union organiser in Buffalo, said: “This decision results from months of tireless organising by workers in cafes across the country demanding better working conditions in the face of historical, monumental, and now-deemed-illegal union-busting.”

The parties in the case have until March 28 to file an appeal to the full National Labour Relations Board.