The world of work is evolving rapidly, challenging old norms about the lines between our professional and personal lives.
Collisions pitting employees’ values against those of their employers are inevitable. If not properly managed, they can put a company—and its in-house lawyers—in a tough spot: defending a position that they really don’t want to defend.
Just ask Whole Foods.
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos posted a number of statements supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. At about the same time, store managers at Amazon-owned Whole Foods were sending employees home for wearing BLM masks to work. Whole Foods employees in six states racked up multiple attendance infractions for enforced absences over the following months and were eventually fired.
That caught the attention of the National Labor Relations Board, which is accusing the grocery retailer of violating federal workplace law.
Bezos may have supported BLM, but Amazon’s attorney Michael Ferrell called the movement “controversial” in the ensuing litigation. Ferrell also noted that former President Donald Trump described the movement as “a symbol of hate.” If allowed to wear these masks, Ferrell questioned, what would happen if workers showed up wearing Confederate flag masks?
It remains to be seen...
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