The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reaffirmed employees’ rights to wear union insignia in the workplace. Tesla dress code policy required their production employees to wear the assigned team wear and new hires were provided two pairs of pants, short sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts and a sweater. Employers During the time of a Union organizing campaign, some Tesla employees began wearing shirts with the Union’s campaign slogan on the front and the Union’s initials on the back.
The NLRB found that Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) had violated the federal labor law by despite maintaining a facially neutral dress code policy. The NLRB ordered Tesla to either rescind its policy or revise it, making it clear that their policy does not in fact prohibit employees from wearing black unions shirts. They further ordered Tesla to post a notice of the policy change in their Fremont facility in question.
Employees have the right to wear union insignia at work as it is a reasonable and legitimate form of union activity. Even facially neutral workplace policies can violate the National Labor Relation Act if the policy restricts employees’ rights of union participation, and an employer’s abridgement of this right clearly violates the Act. Though the courts hold there may be special circumstances which justify a ban, Tesla failed to establish any existed for their policy.
It is important for employers to be aware of their employees’ rights and to audit their policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the National Labor Relation Act as this decision affects both union and non-unionized employees.
