Minnesota Home Depot threatened workers for supporting Black Lives Matter: labor board

On Tuesday, the Huffington Post reported that the National Labor Relations Board alleges management at a Home Depot in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is discriminating against employees who openly show support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

"The filing from an NLRB regional director claims the company used its uniform policy to 'selectively and disparately' punish workers who had the initials 'BLM' on their Home Depot aprons," reported Dave Jamieson. "One worker was allegedly told to choose between wearing the slogan and having a job at the store. That worker was suspended and then terminated, according to the complaint. The complaint also alleges that management threatened workers with 'unspecified consequences' over their Black Lives Matter activism during an online work meeting in February."

According to NLRB regional director Jennifer Hadsall, this pattern of behavior could constitute racial harassment under the National Labor Relations Act.

Minneapolis became the epicenter of race and policing protests last year after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer — a crime which led to a rare conviction, and may ultimately have weakened the re-election prospects of former President Donald Trump.