REPRESENTING UNIONS & EMPLOYEES SINCE 1936
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Board Upholds Employee Right to Wear T-Shirts Criticizing Employer

October 13, 2011 by

Frustrated over the progress of contract negotiations with AT&T, the Communication Workers of America created “prisoner” T-shirts worn by members, including technicians who respond to customer service calls. The word “INMATE #” was written on the front of the T-shirts and on the back were vertical stripes surrounding the words “PRISONER OF AT$T.”

AT&T banned employees who interacted with customers from wearing the prisoner Tshirt and suspended employees who refused to remove the T-shirt. The Union filed an unfair labor practice charge and last month in AT&T Connecticut the NLRB ruled that the suspensions were an Unfair Labor Practice.

Wearing Union T-shirts on the job is generally protected under the National Labor Relations Act, but an employer may lawfully ban such shirts if the employer establishes “special circumstances” justifying the ban. In the past the Board has found special circumstances exist when the T-shirt’s content “unreasonably interferes with the employer’s public image.”

In AT&T Connecticut the Board concluded AT&T failed to establish justify the prohibition because the shirt was “not reasonably likely, under the circumstances, to cause fear or alarm among AT&T’s customers.”

The Board rejected AT&T’s argument that its previously established appearance standard justified the ban because the standard was vague and had not been uniformly enforced. The Board also concluded that AT&T’s professed concern with the effect of the T-shirt on its public image was not “reasonable,” rejecting AT&T’s argument that customers might believe that AT&T’s technicians were actually prisoners or on a work release program from prison. The Board contrasted the AT&T shirts to cases where it had found the employers ban on Union T-shirts was reasonable: a T-shirt with a picture of employees as squashed carcasses lying in a pool of blood, and a T-shirts worn by grocery employees which read “don’t cheat about the meat.”

Whether a union T-shirt is properly subject to an employer’s ban depends on the factual circumstances. Factors to be considered include whether the employer has a clear dress code that would prohibit the attire and whether it is strictly enforced, whether the message is vulgar or obscene, whether the message is clearly related to a labor dispute, and whether the employer can present evidence of actual harm to its image.

The material on this website is provided by Beeson, Tayer & Bodine for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the information presented. Some of the articles are updated periodically, and are marked with the date of the last update. Again, readers should consult with their own legal counsel for the most current information and to obtain professional advice before acting on any of the information presented.