October 28, 2019

Federal and state legislators have passed laws to protect individuals who have a history of facing hardship in obtaining and keeping employment, housing or other public accommodations. Those protected individuals or groups are called protected classes. While not all unfair treatment is considered illegal, unfair treatment on the basis of a protected class characteristic is. In that vein, one of the trends to watch is states broadening the classes of individuals protected by employment discrimination laws. One of the more recent protected class developments revolves around hair. New York City led the way in banning discrimination against natural hairstyles and California followed soon after. The cities of Cincinnati and Boston are hot on their heels each enacting their own discrimination bans on the basis of natural hair. Specifically, the laws ban employers from discrimination on the basis of traits historically associated with race and depending on the law, include braids, locks, twists, afros, or other types of natural hair. If you are curious about the protected classes in your states or would like more information about how to prevent discrimination on the basis of hairstyle, contact our lawyers at myHRcounsel today for expert guidance.