Whole Foods defends prohibiting employees from wearing masks with slogans including 'Black Lives Matter'

Whole Foods is defending itself amid an effort from National Labor Relations Board prosecutors to force the Amazon-owned grocery chain to allow its employees to wear "Black Lives Matter" attire while they are at work, despite the company's longstanding policy forbidding all slogans in its dress code.

NLRB prosecutors accused Whole Foods last month of violating U.S. labor law by allegedly punishing workers who wore BLM masks in 2020. The prosecutors are pursuing labor charges on the basis that workers have the right under federal labor laws to engage in collective action related...