For example, several Whole Foods employees recently initiated a class action lawsuit claiming they’ve been subjected to race discrimination and retaliation for wearing BLM masks and other clothing, even after the company reversed its initial prohibition on the face coverings.

Let’s look at the legal, business, and social considerations in play here.

Constitutional and Legal Tug-of-War

Some employees assert their right to free speech should allow them to wear whatever they please to work, not realizing the First Amendment protects them only from unreasonable restrictions on speech by the government.

Legally, private employers may restrict speech as long as their actions don’t violate other laws. For example, if employees are engaged in concerted activity about the terms and conditions of their employment, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) may protect their conduct and speech.

Wearing a BLM mask could be permissible under the NLRA if employees were protesting workplace discrimination, but that’s generally not what we’ve been seeing. Rather, employees want to express their support for the social movement embodied by the BLM slogan.

Therefore, when considering restrictions on the employee dress code, as with many other issues, you must evaluate potential legal, social, and business concerns all at once.

Corporate Commitment to Diversity

Many companies feel the BLM movement aligns with their values and reinforces their commitment to diverse employees, management, customers, and partnerships. Therefore, they’ve decided to let employees express themselves with their apparel. Here are two examples:

• After initially banning any BLM apparel, Starbucks reversed its decision and decided to print 250,000 company-branded BLM shirts. They plan to make the shirts available to all employees, similar to how the company celebrates Pride month.

• Wawa changed its policy banning BLM apparel and now allows employees to wear pins to express support for the movement...

Source: HR Daily Advisor