Whole Foods has reached a settlement in a high-profile lawsuit involving a former employee, Savannah Kinzer, who was dismissed for refusing to remove her Black Lives Matter facemask, Reuters reported.
The lawsuit, filed in 2020, alleged that the upscale grocery chain, owned by Amazon.com, unlawfully terminated Kinzer for her public protests and criticism regarding the company's dress code and racial discrimination policies.
Kinzer's case, the last of a proposed class action that initially challenged Whole Foods' prohibition on Black Lives Matter attire, was set to go to trial on August 19. The case garnered attention as it happened during the racial justice protests sparked by the May 2020 killing of George Floyd.
In their defense, Whole Foods had implemented a strict dress code during the pandemic that prohibited employees from wearing masks with political messages, including those supporting Black Lives Matter.
Whole Foods Lawsuit Settlement
According to a filing in federal court in Boston, Whole Foods has agreed in principle to settle the lawsuit with Kinzer.
The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, and neither Whole Foods nor Kinzer's legal team has responded to requests for further comment.
While courts previously dismissed wider claims of racial discrimination, Reuters reported earlier this year that the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived Kinzer's individual claim of illegal retaliation earlier this year, ordering that a jury should decide the matter.
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