A court in Massachusetts held that Whole Foods did not violate Title VII when it told employees they could not wear apparel referring to the Black Lives Matter movement while at work. This demonstrates the limits of Title VII protections against race discrimination and retaliation.
The Patriot Ledger
Almost all of the claims in a federal lawsuit against Whole Foods for punishing employees who wore Black Lives Matter face masks have been dismissed, including claims made by a Randolph resident.
The lawsuit named 14 plaintiffs, including Suverino Frith, of Randolph. Frith worked at the Whole Foods on River Street in Cambridge and said in the lawsuit that he was sent home after showing up to work wearing a Black Lives Matter face mask.
Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan filed the lawsuit in June and said in it that employees were sent home for the day, without pay, if they wore Black Lives Matter face masks and received disciplinary points, which could lead to being fired.
Supporters of employees wanting to wear Black Lives Matter masks during their shifts gathered outside the River St. Whole Foods in Cambridge in June 2020. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
A federal trial judge last week dismissed the bulk of a discrimination lawsuit filed by former workers at the Whole Foods Market on Rivers Street in Cambridge.
The suit, brought last summer, alleged the Amazon-owned company illegally barred employees from wearing protective masks that read Black Lives Matter (BLM) during their shifts.
The dispute that led to the lawsuit began days after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd sparked protests for racial justice across the country and around Greater Boston. Whole Foods said the BLM masks violated company dress code, and when some employees continued to wear them, management sent them home without pay.
| Updated December 31, 2020
If 2020 were a story, it would be one that can be told without saying a word. This year, we wore our hearts on our sleeves or rather, our faces.
What should not have been considered a political act wearing a mask to protect ourselves and others from the coronavirus lent itself to taking a stand against police brutality and racism, to support presidential candidates, to evoke laughter, and even to make a fashion statement this year.
All over the country people used their protective gear to send messages and exhibit self-expression. Face masks will continue to play a role in 2021, but for better or worse, we’ll never forget this year.
Pandemic. Politics. Protest.
Those were the central issues that dominated 2020. Our photographers selected images from our coverage that best capture and illustrate those major storylines of 2020.
Below are the images that told the story of the protests. We also have photo highlights of the year in politics and the pandemic. You can find a complete collection here of more than 100 of the very best shots WBUR took in 2020.
(Jesse Costa/WBUR)
April 23 | Protesters screamed out of their windows, part of a mobile caravan driving past Baker’s home in Swampscott to protest the closures in the state due to the pandemic.