Employers may be surprised to learn that the law protects their employee\u2019s hair and hairstyles\u2014at least sometimes. Enacted in 2019, California\u2019s CROWN Act (which stands for \u201cCreate a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair\u201d) prohibits employers from discriminating against job applicants and employees based on their hairstyle or texture\u2014such as braids, locks, and twists. \u00a0The first law of its sort in the Nation, the CROWN Act\u2019s avowed purpose is to protect those who, in our Nation\u2019s history, have been historically discriminated against based on traits traditionally associated with race\u2014such as hair.<\/p>\n
Employers have realized that the CROWN Act is an important law as employees have filed discrimination claims based on an employer\u2019s grooming and professional standards. While employers have traditionally been able to modulate their employee\u2019s professional appearance, the CROWN Act cautions employers to be sensitive to the hairstyles and appearances of an ever-increasing diverse workforce.<\/p>\n
So, what can employers do to reduce a potential CROWN Act claim? To begin with, employers should scrub any and all rules in their policy guides that specifically forbid specific hairstyles. \u00a0In addition, employers should review their grooming and appearance policies to ensure that they do not have a disproportionate impact on a select group of employees, regardless of how facially neutral such policies appear on paper. \u00a0\u00a0Furthermore, employers should inform all managers and supervisors about the CROWN Act\u2019s prohibitions and train such individuals to not comment on any employee or applicant\u2019s appearance.<\/p>\n