By Doyinsola Oladipo
(Reuters) -The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said on Monday it was unlawful for Tesla Inc to prohibit employees from wearing shirts bearing union insignia, ruling in a 2017 dispute between the electric car maker and the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union.
NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran said the decision reaffirms “any attempt to restrict the wearing of union clothing or insignia is presumptively unlawful and – consistent with Supreme Court precedent – an employer has a heightened burden to justify attempts to limit this important right.”
In a 3-2 decision, the NLRB said that when companies interfere with employees’ rights to display union insignia the employer “has the burden to establish special circumstances” and the majority “found that Tesla failed to establish special circumstances in this case.”
Tesla and the UAW did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New YorkWriting by David ShepardsonEditing by Mark Porter and Matthew Lewis)