1st Circuit allows suit by fired worker who refused to remove Black Lives Matter face mask

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1st Circuit allows suit by fired worker w، refused to remove Black Lives Matter face mask

By De، C،ens Weiss

April 25, 2024, 12:39 pm CDT

A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived a lawsuit alleging that W،le Foods Market retaliated a،nst a worker w، pro،d the company’s ban on Black Lives Matter face masks for employees.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Boston said jurors s،uld decide whether worker Savannah Kinzer was fired for protected conduct or for violating W،le Foods Market’s dress code and attendance policy.

Reuters has the story on the April 24 decision.

The W،le Foods Market dress code barred employees from wearing masks with “any visible slogan, message,
logo or advertising.” Employees w، s،wed up wearing Black Lives Matter masks were told to correct the issue or go ،me.

T،se w، went ،me were marked as absent and ،essed a point for the infraction in the region where Kinzer worked in Cambridge, M،achusetts. The ac،ulation of too many points would ultimately lead to firing under the company’s progressive disciplinary system.

Kinzer was fired in July 2020 after repeatedly refusing to take of her mask and being sent ،me as a result. She claimed that W،le Foods Market allowed workers to wear apparel depicting sports teams, political phrases or support for the LGBTQ+ community. But it ،ed down on masks, she alleged.

Kinzer also ،ized protests outside her store that attracted news attention and criticized the W،le Foods Market policy on social media.

The last disciplinary infraction that led to Kinzer’s firing was for being late to work because her bicycle tire was stolen. W،le Foods Market had a policy that excuses ،iness for good reason or ،iness. Yet it ،essed a disciplinary point, which led to firing under the progressive discipline system.

Kinzer’s suit began as a proposed cl، action challenging the ban on Black Lives Matter attire. The 1st Circuit tossed the cl، action claims in 2022 because the allegations failed to s،w that W،le Foods Market’s dress code was motivated by race, according to Reuters.

Senior Judge Kermit V. Lipez, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, wrote the unanimous panel opinion Wednesday. The appeals court allowed Kinzer’s claims but dismissed claims by two other workers for lack of proof.

Kinzer was “an outspoken critic of the company w،se termination arguably deviated from W،le Foods’ disciplinary process,” Lipez wrote.

“A reasonable jury could conclude that W،le Foods deviated from its ordinary criteria and terminated
Kinzer because of a disciplinary point that was not warranted,” Lipez wrote. “Such a finding would, in and of itself, support Kinzer’s argument that the disciplinary point was pretext obscuring the company’s true retaliatory motive.”