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Texas’ CROWN Act doesn’t mean the end of hair discrimination

Last year, Texas became one of a growing number of states with a CROWN Act. This stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. The law was intended to prohibit race-based hair discrimination in workplaces, schools and housing (whether someone can rent or buy a home). 

The new law took effect in Sept. 2023. However, some civil rights advocates argue that there are loopholes in it that still allow employers and others to discriminate against people (primarily African-Americans and other people of color) if they wear their hair naturally.

Not long after the law took effect, the Brookings Institution, which is a non-profit public policy organization, published an article in which the writers pointed out that the law allows the prohibition of hair that’s more than two inches long, “which explicitly singles out and prohibits natural Black hairstyles like afros and dreadlocks….”

The cost of hair discrimination for employees – especially Black women

Advocates for CROWN Acts across the country and for one on the federal level, which still hasn’t passed in Congress, cite studies in which Black women, in particular, often suffer in their careers if they have a natural hairstyle, whether they’re in a state where they can legally face hair discrimination or not. 

According to the Brooking Institution article, race-based hair discrimination not only “limits economic mobility.” It “forces Black women to incur the financial and health burdens of damaging chemical treatments, including increased uterine cancer risk from chemical straighteners. Further, “It also exacts a psychological and physical health toll by forcing assimilation to white beauty standards.”

Can an employer dictate hairstyles?

Typically, an employee’s hair shouldn’t be a matter of concern for their employer as long as it doesn’t somehow affect their ability to do their job or present a health and safety concern, as in restaurant kitchens, for example. That’s why employees in these positions sometimes wear hairnets. 

Any kind of dress or grooming code in a workplace should apply to everyone, or at least have carve-outs based on gender. Discrimination in these policies can be easy to prove if they’re in writing. 

Too often, as noted above, the discrimination is more subtle. It can keep applicants from getting a job or being considered for a promotion. If you believe you’ve been discriminated against because of your hair, it can help to get legal guidance to determine your best course of action to protect your rights.