Tesla Allowed to Ban Wearing Union Shirts, 5th Cir. Decides (1)

Tesla Inc.’s ban on employees wearing union shirts on its electric car line is not a violation of federal labor law, a federal appeals court ruled, overturning a decision from the National Labor Relations Board.

Tesla’s uniform policy advances a legitimate employer interest, and neither discriminates against union communication nor impacts workers’ time away from the job, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said Tuesday.

The NLRB applied an “irrational” rule by treating any restriction on union apparel as an illegal prohibition, thus failing to balance the rights of employers and workers, the appeals court said.

“This ...