Home Depot employee's rights violated in firing over 'BLM' drawn on apron: labor board
The NLRB ruled Home Depot broke the law when it told the employee to remove 'BLM' or be terminated
Home Depot violated the rights of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by firing an employee who refused to remove a handwritten Black Lives Matter acronym from their work apron, according to a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling on Wednesday.
The board determined that the employee's refusal to take "BLM" off their apron was "concerted" because it was a "logical outgrowth" of prior protests alleging racial discrimination in the workplace.
Several other employees at the same location also had the acronym on their work aprons in an attempt to make Home Depot managers aware of complaints about discrimination, according to the board.
NLRB ACCUSES HOME DEPOT OF FORCING EMPLOYEE WEARING BLACK LIVES MATTER LOGO ON APRON TO QUIT
The National Labor Relations Board ruled on Wednesday that Home Depot violated the rights of an employee by forcing them to remove handwritten "BLM" from their apron or be terminated. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)
In a statement to FOX Business, a Home Depot spokesperson said: "We disagree with the NLRB’s decision. The Home Depot is fully committed to diversity and respect for all people. We don’t tolerate any kind of workplace harassment or discrimination."
According to the board, the NLRA protects the legal rights of employees to engage in "concerted activities" for the purpose of "mutual aid or protection," regardless of whether they are represented by a union.
The ruling also stated the employee's decision to keep "BLM" on their work apron fell under "for mutual aid or protection" because the discrimination issue employees were trying to raise with management involved their working conditions.
"It is well-established that workers have the right to join together to improve their working conditions — including by protesting racial discrimination in the workplace," said NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran said in a news release. "It is equally clear that an employee who acts individually to support a group protest regarding a workplace issue remains protected under the law."
The board said an employer's interference with an employee's right to display "protected insignia like the BLM marking" is presumptively unlawful and special circumstances have to be established in order for the rule to be maintained.
Home Depot was accused by the NLRB in 2021 of intentionally targeting BLM imagery in its dress code. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images / Getty Images)
In this case, the majority found that Home Depot "failed to establish such special circumstances" and broke the law when the employee was told to remove the acronym or be terminated.
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The NLRB alleged in 2021 that Home Depot "selectively and disparately" enforced its dress code to target Black Lives Matter imagery.