Whole Foods agrees to settle Black Lives Matter mask dispute

Whole Foods has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a former employee who had claimed that the retailer had unfairly retaliated against her for protesting the company’s dress code.

Savannah Kinzer, a former employee of a Whole Foods in Cambridge, Mass., and several other Whole Foods workers from around the country had sued the retailer in 2020, alleging they were unfairly disciplined for wearing Black Lives Matter face masks in the wake of the killing of George Floyd that year that sparked widespread protests.

A U.S. District Court previously dismissed their claims, but an Appeals Court ruled in April that Kinzer’s claim of unjust retaliation could be reconsidered.

The employees, whose individual suits had been joined together in a class action, alleged that Whole Foods had exercised “selective enforcement” of its dress code because it allowed other employees to wear masks that contained messaging, such as those showing support for LGBTQ workers. They claimed that the retailer discriminated against them based on their race.

Several employees were sent home without pay for refusing to take off the masks, according to court filings. At the time, employees were required to wear face masks because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kinzer, who had reportedly protested outside the store to call attention to Whole Foods’ actions, was fired shortly after she informed store management that she had filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board, according to the suit.

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Lawyers for Kinzer said in a filing that the two sides had reached an agreement in principle to settle the case. Terms were not disclosed.

Neither Whole Foods nor attorneys for Kinzer could be reached for comment.