A judge recently ruled against the Whole Foods employees who were forced by the grocery chain to remove Black Lives Matter apparel and pins.
Announced on Wednesday, the judge from the National Labor Relations, Administrative Law Judge Ariel Sotolongo, ruled that, although the grocers were not allowed to institute the broader ban on messaging on work clothes, the rights of the employees to wear Black Lives Matter apparel was not protected under the National Labor Relations Act.
In his decision, Sotolongo announced that the ban on Black Lives Matter face masks, pins and clothing was legal because it didn’t relate to the workers’ positions as employees or the conditions of the store.
The workers filed the lawsuit on the basis that the Black Lives Matter movement included advocating against systemic racism and that, by wearing the apparel, they were opposing systemic racism at Whole Foods.
In reaction to the latest decision by the judge, attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan publicly proclaimed that she and the Whole Foods employees are looking for alternatives to the case for justice for the workers.
Whole Foods beats NLRB case over ban on Black Lives Matter apparel https://t.co/BSIAqXm6OR pic.twitter.com/87isr0y69N
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 21, 2023
“We are disappointed in this decision,” said Liss-Riordan, per CNN. “Unfortunately the ALJ did not take note of the charging parties’ argument that the workers were protesting Whole Foods’ negative response to their concerted activity.”
Filed by 14 employees in four different states, the court case first began in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd.
After the Whole Foods employees began wearing the Black Lives Matter apparel, the grocery chain told them that they were violating the workplace dress code, forcing them to take off the clothing, face masks and pins or go home.
Those who went home were then promptly informed that they received violation “points” for doing so, leading to their dismissal.
Whole Foods was one of numerous supermarkets to be accused of discriminatory practices in enforcing dress codes.
Like Whole Foods, although they allowed Pride messaging, Costco also sent employees home for wearing face masks for Black Lives Matter. Per a report by Complex, 11 employees across Kentucky, Delaware, New Jersey and Chicago were accused of “anti-harassment policies” or “ignoring dress code” if they supported Black Lives Matter through any type of clothing or pins.
Some of the employees were threatened with suspension and sent home; when they asked to see the dress code, they weren’t given more clarity.
In response, employees, such as cashier Niko Bracy, announced they would be leaving the company.
“As a citizen of the United States of America, I have a right to refuse to dedicate my time, my labor, and my talents to a company that believes I am essential enough to risk my life, but not essential enough to stand against my death,” wrote Bracy in his resignation letter per Buzzfeed News.
