Tips to understand, prepare for the CROWN Act

Have you heard of the CROWN Act? No, it isn’t a popular TV streaming series about Queen Elizabeth II. The CROWN Act is a new antidiscrimination law sweeping the nation, and it could be coming to a legislature near you soon.

What sparked movement to protect race-based hairstyles

The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act, or CROWN Act, is part of a national coalition aimed at securing protections for race-based hairstyles in workplaces and public schools. The Act extends current discrimination laws to protect hair texture and protective styles, such as braids, locks, twists, and knots. Under the statute, an employer can’t discriminate against individuals because they have a natural hair texture or choose to wear their hair in braids or dreadlocks.

The CROWN Act grew out of a research study that revealed black women are 80 percent more likely to be sent home from work because of their hairstyle and 1.5 times more likely than white women to report they had to change their hairstyle to fit in at the workplace.

Also, some courts have found employees discriminated against because of their hairstyles—even styles primarily associated with a certain race—aren’t protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In a 2016 case, for example, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Alabama, Florida, and Georgia employers) concluded, “Title VII protects persons in covered categories with respect to their immutable characteristics, but not their cultural practices.”