Home Depot ban on worker's Black Lives Matter apron was illegal, US agency rules
By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) — Home Depot (NYSE:HD) violated U.S. labor law by barring a retail worker from wearing an apron that said «BLM» in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, a federal labor board ruled on Wednesday.
The National Labor Relations Board in a 3-1 decision said the worker's refusal to remove the writing from the apron was protected by federal law because it came amid complaints about racial discrimination by employees at the New Brighton, Minnesota store.
The worker, Antonio Morales, who uses they/them pronouns, in 2021 was told not to return to work with the altered apron and quit in response.
Morales and other workers at the store had previously raised concerns about racial harassment and discrimination, and wearing the BLM apron was a «logical outgrowth» of those complaints, the NLRB said.
The labor board found that Home Depot broke the law by forcing Morales to quit because they had advocated for better working conditions, which is considered protected conduct under U.S. labor law.
The board said Morales did not have to explicitly link the apron to a workplace protest because, in light of the complaints about discrimination, «the BLM symbol accumulated meaning relevant to working conditions there.»
Home Depot was ordered to reinstate Morales and compensate them for lost pay and benefits. The company, which can appeal the decision to a federal appeals court, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Black Lives Matter movement rose to national prominence in 2020 as protests were held across the country triggered by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.
Wednesday's ruling comes as the labor board is separately considering
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