The nation’s labor board ruled on Wednesday that Home Depot violated federal labor laws when it discharged an employee for refusing to remove the hand-drawn “BLM”— the acronym for “Black Lives Matter” — from his work apron.
The National Labor Relations Act said it protects the legal right of employees to engage in “concerted activities” for the purpose of “mutual aid or protection” — whether or not they are represented by a union. In its ruling, the board reasoned the employee’s refusal to remove the BLM marking was “concerted” because it was a “logical outgrowth” of prior concerted employee protests about racial discrimination in their workplace and because it was an attempt to bring those group complaints to the attention of Home Depot managers.
The conduct of the employee, identified as Antonio Morales, was also “for mutual aid or protection” because the issue of racial discrimination involved employees’ working conditions, the board said.
“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 Chairman Lauren McFerran in a statement. “It is equally clear that an employee who acts individually to support a group protest regarding a workplace issue remains protected under the law.”
Home Depot, based in Atlanta, couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
