DE Under 3: EEOC Consent Decree Illustrated Enforcement Stance Regarding Natural Hair Texture & Race Discrimination
Illegal or ill-mannered? Title VII meets Ms. Manners
Employment Law Now: Volume 3 Episode 45- Part 1 of 2 Back From The Summer Hiatus
The workplace landscape has shifted, and with it, employee attire. As employees return to the office, many opt for more casual wear, such as jeans and polo shirts, or even summer-appropriate clothing like tank tops and...more
In the spirit of the season, we are using our annual "12 Days of California Labor and Employment" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on employers. On the third day of the holidays, my labor and...more
Governor Newsom recently signed an amendment to the CROWN Act (which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair”) extending the Act’s reach. Specifically, the amendment, Assembly Bill 1815, makes two...more
With the Governor’s September 30 deadline to sign bills behind us, we review the employment bills that made the cut to become laws, as well as those that didn’t survive the season. The most notable new laws read...more
On July 24, 2024, the Governor of Puerto Rico, Hon. Pedro Pierluisi, signed into law Senate Bill 1282, the Law Against Discrimination Based on Hair Styles. This law adopts as public policy the express prohibition of...more
Colorado recently amended its CROWN Act of 2020 to include hair length as a protected characteristic for purposes of the state’s nondiscrimination law....more
Although not widespread, ordinances prohibiting discrimination based on natural hairstyles and textures are not completely foreign to Florida, and amidst a perceived rise in “anti-wokeness,” employers in the Sunshine State...more
Governor Greg Abbott recently signed House Bill No. 567, also known as the CROWN Act, into law. Following the bill’s enactment on September 1, 2023, Texas law will prohibit race-based hair discrimination in employment,...more
Michigan is the latest state to expand its legal definition of race as a protected class to include hairstyle descriptors. As we recently explained, legislation with the acronym for “Creating a Respectful and Open Work for...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Natural hairstyles have become increasingly popular among Black Americans of both sexes. Despite their popularity, these hairstyles have been overregulated frequently in the workplace. To address this...more
On June 15, 2023, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 90, which amends the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (“ELCRA”) to prohibit discrimination based on traits historically associated with race, such as hair...more
In recent years, there has been a growing movement to ban discrimination against natural hairstyles. This movement was cultivated by the introduction of the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (“CROWN”) Act,...more
Texas has now joined 20 other states and various local jurisdictions that ban discrimination based on hairstyle through the Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act (the “CROWN Act”), which will go into...more
On May 12, 2023, Lexington became the fourth city in Kentucky to protect hairstyles under its local anti-discrimination ordinances. The Lexington CROWN Act (Ordinance No. 49-2023), an acronym for "Creating a Respectful and...more
On April 13, 2023, the Texas House of Representatives passed House Bill 567, known as the Texas CROWN Act, that would prohibit race-based discrimination in schools, workplaces, and housing. The Texas legislation is a state...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Minnesota becomes the latest of a growing number of states to enact CROWN Act legislation, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of hair textures and hairstyles. Its enactment expands Minnesota...more
Minnesota has now joined at least 19 other states in enacting a CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” The Act, which in Minnesota has come in the form of brief but important...more
Minnesota is poised to join at least 19 other states in enacting a CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” The Act, which in Minnesota would come in the form of brief but...more
There has been a strong trend in recent years in which state and local governments across the country have expanded the definition of race for purposes of anti-discrimination statutes to include traits that are historically...more
On July 26, 2022, Governor Charlie Baker signed into law “An Act Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Natural and Protective Hairstyles,” popularly known as the Massachusetts CROWN Act. The effective date of the new law...more
The Massachusetts Crown Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” is a law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination. The purpose of the Crown Act is to prohibit the denial of...more
On July 26, 2022, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair ("CROWN") Act, prohibiting discrimination against employees and students on the basis of natural...more
As we reported last week, on July 26, 2022, Governor Baker signed into law Massachusetts’ own version of the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (“CROWN”) Act, prohibiting discrimination based on...more
On Tuesday, July 26th, Massachusetts took another significant step towards building an inclusive society when Governor Baker signed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act (the “CROWN Act”) into law. The...more
On July 26, 2022, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law House Bill 4554 – commonly referred to as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (“CROWN”) Act – which bans discrimination based on natural...more