From colorful patterns and vegetable prints to SpongeBob SquarePants, Whole Foods employees across the country have adopted creative masks across the country since the pandemic began.
But according to 14 employees at Whole Foods stores in California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Washington state, the company traced the Black Lives Matter line of masks, clothing and pins. The workers were sent home without pay, subjected to “corrective” discipline and threatened with the loss of their jobs for refusing to remove the items, a class action lawsuit filed in Massachusetts Federal District Court said Monday.
The Amazon-owned company did not enforce its dress code policy when employees wore messages on masks and clothing expressing support for other entities and causes, such as sports teams and LGBTQ rights, the lawsuit said.
One of the workers, Savannah Kinzer, was fired Saturday from her job in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for wearing a Black Lives Matter mask and protesting Whole Foods “employee discipline” for doing so, according to the lawsuit. She also encouraged her coworkers to wear the masks.
“Whole Foods employees across the country are prohibited from wearing Black Lives Matter masks and other related clothing at work,” he said.
In a statement, Whole Foods denied that any employee was fired for wearing Black Lives Matter masks or clothing.
He said Ms. Kinzer violated the time and attendance policy “by not working their assigned shifts, reporting late to work multiple times in the past nine days, and choosing to leave during their scheduled shifts.”
The attorney representing the plaintiffs, Shannon Liss-Riordan, said Ms. Kinzer was escorted after telling her manager that she had filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board, federal agencies. that support the well-being of workers and prevent discrimination. .
“We ask the court to order Whole Foods to allow employees to wear Black Lives Matter masks and other clothing on the job,” he said, referring in an email to the pins, masks and messages on the sneakers.
She said the employees were also asking that the disciplinary action against them be reversed and that they be paid late.
The Whole Foods dress code prohibits visible slogans, messages, logos and advertising that are not related to the company on any item of clothing.
A statement from the company said its dress code policy is intended to “prioritize safety” and maintain a focus on customer service.
“While we cannot comment on pending litigation,” the company said, “it is critical to clarify that no team member has been fired for wearing Black Lives Matter masks or clothing.”
“We have zero tolerance for retaliation at Whole Foods Market,” he continued. “We recognize, respect, and take steps to ensure that we do not affect the legal rights of employees.”
Black Whole Foods employees and their coworkers began wearing Black Lives Matter masks in June, when protests against police violence and racism swept the country after George Floyd’s death, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit highlights emerging tensions as American companies and their employees navigate protests against systemic racism amid turmoil caused by the growing coronavirus pandemic, in which black Americans are dying roughly twice as many. white Americans rate.
While large companies tend to be wary of offending customers by associating their brands with sensitive issues, many corporations, including Nike, Twitter, and Citigroup, took public positions against racial injustice and police violence after Floyd’s death in the Minneapolis police custody in May.
Companies have also tried to meet the needs of workers who endure hostility from customers who are denied service for not wearing masks.
Last month, Starbucks said employees would be allowed to wear Black Lives Matter shirts and pins, a sudden change in policy that had banned the phrase because it could “amplify the division.”
The lawsuit said Whole Foods and Amazon had posted messages online in support of the Black Lives Matter and condemning racism. But he claimed that the company’s dress code policy had not been applied against garments that supported the LGBTQ Pride or that expressed political or social slogans in the same way that it had against workers’ Black Lives Matter paraphernalia.
The plaintiffs worked at Whole Foods stores in Cambridge, Mass.; Berkeley, California; Bedford, NH; and Seattle
The lawsuit says Whole Foods began “strictly enforcing” its dress code policy once employees began wearing Black Lives Matter masks and other clothing, and disciplined employees who refused to remove Black Lives Matter masks.
Six of the plaintiffs at two Whole Foods locations in Cambridge were sent home without paying to wear the masks, according to the lawsuit. An employee in Seattle left the company after she was sent home twice and told to receive additional training. A Berkeley worker quit her job after she was sent home for wearing a Black Lives Matter pin.
