Federal Judge Rules Home Depot Did Not Violate Workers’ Rights By Refusing To Allow Them To Wear BLM Merchandise At Work

A federal judge ruled Friday that Home Depot did not interfere with workers’ rights by refusing to allow employees to wear Black Lives Matter merchandise while at work. 

Bloomberg News reports that administrative judge Paul Bogas rejected a claim by the US National Labor Relations Board that the company violated federal labor laws by denying staff the right to wear the phrase while on the clock. 

Bogas wrote that the BLM message lacked “an objective, and sufficiently direct, relationship to terms and conditions of employment.” The message “originated, and is primarily used, to address the unjustified killings of Black individuals by law enforcement and vigilantes,” he continued.  

The judge said the message “operates as a political umbrella for societal concerns” and only correlates to the workplace “in the sense that workplaces are part of society.”

According to the outlet, the labor relations board can appeal the ruling. 

Whole Foods is facing a similar complaint, which is part of an ongoing case in San Francisco. The market has denied any wrongdoing.