Whole Foods Workers Sue Over Black Lives Matter Mask Rules

SEATTLE, WA — Whole Foods workers in four U.S. cities filed a federal class-action lawsuit on Monday, alleging the Amazon-owned grocery chain discriminated and retaliated against employees who wore Black Lives Matter face coverings in recent weeks.

The lawsuit, filed in Boston, includes plaintiffs employed at stores in Seattle, Berkeley, California, Bedford, New Hampshire and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Associated Press reports store managers have pointed to company dress codes, which bar clothing items with slogans and logos. But attorneys for workers say Whole Foods is enforcing its rules "selectively and arbitrarily," having allowed other symbols in the past, including sports-related logos.

"The actions of Whole Foods against its employees are not only illegal but shameful," said Shannon Liss-Riordan, lead attorney in the lawsuit. "These essential workers have been asked to put their health at risk during this pandemic, and they have done so. Whole Foods' decision to selectively and arbitrarily enforce its 'dress code' to specifically suppress the message that Black Lives Matter paints a picture about what the company values, and that picture is not pretty."

In Seattle, a group of Whole Foods employees rallied outside the chain's South Lake Union location on June 19, after being told they could not report to work while wearing BLM face coverings.

An online petition, started by Whole Foods Workers Seattle, demands management allow the face coverings without retaliation and provide backpay for workers who missed shifts due to management's actions. Nearly 5,000 people had signed the petition by Monday afternoon.