Overview
- On Nov. 6, the Eighth Circuit set aside the NLRB’s 2024 decision and held that Home Depot could restrict a 'BLM' inscription on a required apron under the NLRA’s special circumstances doctrine.
- The court credited store-specific safety concerns tied to the Minneapolis area after George Floyd’s murder and accepted the company’s business interest in maintaining an apolitical customer-facing environment.
- Judges emphasized that Home Depot applied a longstanding, consistently enforced uniform policy and that the limitation targeted the required apron rather than banning the message in all forms.
- The opinion stressed the ruling’s narrow, fact-dependent reach and cautioned that it does not authorize blanket prohibitions on political or protest messaging.
- The case returns to the NLRB, which may address the unresolved question of whether the 'BLM' apron display was protected concerted activity under Section 7.