A federal appeals court ruled Nov. 14 that electric carmaker Tesla’s neutral, non-discriminatory dress code did not violate employees’ right to wear union insignia at work, overturning a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) affirmation in 2021 of a 2019 administrative law judge ruling.

Instead of company-provided black shirts with the Tesla logo, some employees had begun to wear black shirts with the United Auto Workers (UAW) logo. Tesla policy required the company uniform shirts to prevent damage to vehicles and facilitate visual management of production. But Tesla allowed the UAW-emblazoned shirts anyway—until “mutilation” of vehicles increased.

UAW contended that Tesla had failed to show that restricting union insignia was necessary to maintain production or discipline. The appeals court observed that rather than prohibiting the use of union insignia, the Tesla policy seeks to restrict the type of clothing that can be worn. Employees can display such insignia in other ways, such as stickers.

Read the U.S. Chamber of Commerce take on the appeals court ruling’s significance to employers’ policies on the display of union insignia on uniforms.

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