Whole Foods, Workers Debate Whether BLM Mask Ban About Job Bias

Whole Foods Market Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. violated federal anti-bias law when they punished workers for wearing Black Lives Matter masks because it denied their rights to associate with and support Black colleagues, a group of employees told the First Circuit on Wednesday.

The companies also retaliated against the workers for opposing what they reasonably believed was workplace race discrimination, particularly after they “doubled down” with their mask wearing after the companies’ initial crackdown, attorney Shannon E. Liss-Riordan said.

BLM masks don’t protest workplace practices, they just reflect a social message, attorney Michael L. Banks said for Whole Foods and ...