Whole Foods’ Black Lives Matter apparel ban upheld by federal labor board

The ruling allows the Amazon-owned grocer to enforce its workplace dress code against Black Lives Matter apparel.

Whole Foods’ ban on Black Lives Matter apparel does not violate federal labor law, according to a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, (NLRB). The board sided with the Amazon-owned grocer over employees who wore Black Lives Matter shirts, masks and accessories in 2020. The decision follows disputes over Home Depot’s BLM apron policy and Publix’s workplace apparel restrictions.

The apparel ban grew out of complaints filed after workers in several states were disciplined, sent home or fired for refusing to remove Black Lives Matter messages. In 2021, an NLRB regional office accused the company of labor-law violations across 10 states.

Reuters reported that the Republican-led board found the workers were not protesting conditions at Whole Foods, so wearing the messages was not protected concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act. That allowed the company to enforce its dress code and discipline employees who refused to comply.

The dress code ruling also found 2-1 that Whole Foods’ former policy was not unlawfully broad. The company adopted the policy in 2013 after settling an earlier NLRB case and revised it in 2020. An administrative law judge had found the rule unlawful because the updated wording did not exactly match the settlement language.

Board member David Prouty, the panel’s lone Democrat, dissented from that part of the decision. He argued that Whole Foods improperly broadened the agreed policy by removing the word “printed,” allowing the company to prohibit accessories such as pins and buttons.

The NLRB distinguished the case from its 2024 decision against Home Depot. In that dispute, workers linked Black Lives Matter messages on their aprons to complaints about racial harassment from coworkers and customers, creating a direct connection to workplace conditions.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later reversed the Home Depot ruling. The court found that the retailer’s ban was lawful and cited its interest in maintaining its public image and protecting employees and customers.

The dress code ruling leaves Whole Foods free to enforce the policy at issue in the case. Similar disputes remain active, including the board’s review of a ruling involving two Kroger subsidiaries accused of unlawfully banning Black Lives Matter apparel.