Home Depot is the destination for all your household needs and projects, but it appears the one-stop shop may be stopping short of showing support for the ever-growing Black Lives Matter movement.
According to a complaint filed by a regional official with the National Labor Relations Board, employees at a Home Depot in Minneapolis claim the branch used its uniform policy to punish them for displaying BLM activism during work hours.
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As reported by Huff Post, NLRB Regional Director Jennifer Hadsall explained in her complaint that one worker was even told to allegedly pick between keeping his job and freely wearing the BLM slogan on his Home Depot apron. Eventually, he says the company first suspended him followed by full termination.
Here’s some info on why the workers may have the law on their side based off a specific statute that proves the unfairness of what Home Depot is accused of, via Huff Post:
“Under the National Labor Relations Act, workers have a right to join together to try to improve their working conditions under what’s known as ‘protected concerted activity.’ The NLRB regional director who issued the complaint, Jennifer Hadsall, made clear in a statement that the law covers workers trying to address racial harassment in the workplace.
‘The NLRA protects employees’ rights to raise these issues with the goal of improving their working conditions,’ Hadsall said. ‘It is this important right we seek to protect in this case.’
Hadsall’s complaint seeks to force Home Depot to post a notice in all of its stores in the U.S. clarifying that workers have the right to address racial discrimination without fear of retaliation.”
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However, a spokesperson for Home Depot fired back against the claims, writing in an email, “The Home Depot does not tolerate workplace harassment of any kind and takes all reports of discrimination or harassment seriously, as we did in this case. The spokesperson, who says the NLRB complaint “misrepresents” what happened, went on to add, “We disagree with the characterization of this situation and look forward to sharing the facts during the NLRB’s process.”
Even though Home Depot may have been just trying to stay politically neutral, that still isn’t a reason to go against the lawful rights of workers in order to do so.
Let us know what you think should be done in this case.
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