Whole Foods Sued For Punishing Employees With ‘Black Lives Matter’ Face Masks

Whole Foods Market, a chain of high-end grocery stores owned by Amazon, was sued on Monday by employees for allegedly punishing the wearing of “Black Lives Matter”-styled face masks.

Fourteen plaintiffs in the proposed class-action suit – they are from four states and different racial and ethnic backgrounds – accuse the company of sending workers home without pay or disciplining workers wearing such masks or other pieces of clothing. The complaint was filed in Boston federal court.

Whole Foods has countered by insisting that the masks violate its longstanding rules against “visible slogans, messages, logos or advertising” on employee clothing. The workers have furthered countered this by claiming that this rule was selectively enforced, with clothing bearing other political stances or sports team logos going unnoticed.

One of the plaintiffs, Savannah Kinzer, a white woman, claims that she was fired on Saturday for organizers an employee protest at a Cambridge, Massachusetts, location. Whole Foods claims that Kinzer was fired for being late and missing shifts.

"The actions of Whole Foods against its employees are not only illegal but shameful,” said Shannon Liss-Riordan, attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a release. “Whole Foods' decision to selectively and arbitrarily enforce it's '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 June, Amazon publicly voiced support for Black Lives Matter and pledged $10 million to social justice causes.

Similar disputes about employees wearing “Black Lives Matter” logos have led to public outcry in recent months against companies like Starbucks and Taco Bell. This backlash led both companies to reverse course and allow employees to wear the logos.

“Many companies are making enthusiastic statements about how they support Black Lives Matter and protests that have shaken up the country,” Liss-Riordan said. “Whole Foods and Amazon have portrayed themselves as champions of racial justice, but when their employees try to speak out, they get muzzled.”