EdNurg - stock.adobe.com
On July 1, 2020, a series of employment protection laws went into effect in Virginia. These laws provide a variety of improved employee rights, including reasonable accommodations for lactating and pregnant employees, a bar on discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, prohibiting state and local governments from asking job applicants about their criminal history, new wage laws, redefining racial discrimination to now include hair discrimination and expanded whistleblower protections.
Discrimination based on hair is especially relevant given the Black Lives Matter movement thats sweeping our nation. And while it might now seem like common sense to have such protections, Virginia is only part of a minority of jurisdictions that no longer allow this type of discrimination.
Hair Discrimination: A Historical Background
Since the beginning of the United States, Black people have endured discrimination and attempts at being controlled through rules or laws concerning their hair. For example, in 1786, Governor Don Esteban Mir created a law that required women of color to use a piece of cloth, or tignon, to cover their hair.
One purpose of this hair covering law was to prevent a Creole, mulatto or woman of African descent from drawing attention to herself with her hair, and in particular, drawing the attention of white men. In other words, this was an anti-miscegenation law. Another reason for enacting this law was to signify membership to the slave class, even if the woman wearing a tignon was not a slave.
After the abolition of slavery in the United States, many Blacks felt pressured to fit in with white society by changing their looks, including straightening their hair.
Recent Examples of Hair Discrimination
Hundreds of years have passed, but hair discrimination is still alive and well. In late 2018, a video went viral showing a high school wrestler (who identifies as multiracial) having his dreadlocks cut off in order to compete in a school wrestling match.
In 2016, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that an employers grooming policy that banned employees from having dreadlocks did not violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits racial discrimination in the workplace.
In this case, Chastity Jones (Jones), who is Black, was offered a position as a customer service representative for Catastrophe Management Solutions. Upon learning that Jones had dreadlocks, a manager told her that she needed to cut off her dreadlocks. She refused and Catastrophe Management Solutions withdrew the job offer.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) took up the case and filed suit on Jones behalf. The EEOC argued that what happened to Jones was a form of racial discrimination and therefore illegal under Title VII. The U.S. District Court disagreed and dismissed the case.
In affirming the U.S. District Court, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reasoned that Title VII only barred discrimination based on immutable traits (an unchangeable characteristic of a person), such as hair texture. And because Jones offer was taken back because of her hairstyle (something that she could change) and not her hair texture (something she could not change), the discrimination she endured was legal under Title VII.
The court also reasoned that at issue here was discrimination based on a cultural practice, not an immutable characteristic. And because Title VII did not protect employees against cultural practice discrimination, Jones could not succeed in her lawsuit.
For the most part, federal courts recognized that discrimination based on hair texture was unlawful under Title VII. So discrimination based on an afro would be an illegal form of race discrimination. However, as reflected by the Jones case, federal courts generally refused to convey these protections to hairstyle discrimination, as well.
With courts failing to fully protect individuals from discrimination based on their hair, states and local jurisdictions realized that they needed to do something.
States and Localities Take on Hair Discrimination
California became the first state to pass a law against hair discrimination when Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 188 into law in July 2019. Also known as the Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair or CROWN Act, this law included hair texture and protective hairstyles as protected racial traits. The CROWN Act listed braids, twists and locks as examples of protective hairstyles.
Earlier in 2019, the New York City Commission on Human Rights released guidance that declared that hairstyle and hair texture discrimination could also be a form of racial discrimination.
Other jurisdictions with laws similar to Californias CROWN Act include:
And not to be left behind, Virginia has joined this quickly growing list.
HB 1514: Virginias Ban on Hair Discrimination
In March 2020, Governor Ralph Northam signed HB 1514 which would make Virginia one of the newest states to take on hair discrimination. This law went into effect on July 1, 2020.
Fairly short as far as statutes go, HB 1514 explicitly states that racial discrimination under Virginia law now includes discrimination against an individual because of traits historically associated with race, including hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists.
Put another way, if there is discrimination because of someones hairstyle or texture, then Virginia law may consider that as a form of unlawful racial discrimination, whether its at school or in the office.
However, this new law will likely apply only when the discrimination relates to a hair characteristic that has been traditionally connected to race.
The Future of Hair Discrimination Law
Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-La) have introduced the CROWN Act of 2019. This bill bans hair discrimination in various situations and circumstances including the workplace.
For instance, this law would prohibit an employer from discriminating against someone because of that persons hairstyle or texture, as long as the hairstyle or texture is commonly associated with a particular national origin or race.
Many other states have proposed their own hair discrimination laws. But given the BLM movement and the added emphasis on fighting racial discrimination in this country, theres a good chance that many more states will follow with their own hair antidiscrimination laws.
View post:
Virginias New Law Against Hair Discrimination and How We Got Here - Forbes
- wage slavery - Why Work - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Pudzer isn't looking at the big picture - Las Vegas Sun - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Scheme for fishing crews is 'legitimising slavery' - Irish Times - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Living off the grid: Neo-peasants in Daylesford, Victoria take on ... - NEWS.com.au - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Attending College Doesn't Close the Wage Gap and Other Myths Exposed in New 'Asset Value of Whiteness' Report - The Root - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Why Do We Take Pride in Working for a Paycheck? - JSTOR Daily - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- An interesting life through the eyes of a slave driver - Irish Independent - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Attending College Doesn't Close Racial Wage Gap, Says New Report - Post News Group (blog) - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- The Rule of Law and The Working Class - Anarkismo.net - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Wolf budget proposal calls for $12 minimum wage - Scranton Times-Tribune - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Where did capitalism come from? - Socialist Worker Online - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Aussies working too hard and we're headed for disaster - Bundaberg News Mail - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- The Two Types of Campus Leftists - National Review - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Month of the Presidents - PrimePublishers.com - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Believing is seeing - Arkansas Times - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Uncomfortable truths: The role of slavery and the slave trade in building northern wealth - Daily Kos - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Point/Counterpoint: On Liberal Capitalism - The Free Weekly - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- To make Trump's America ungovernable, African American struggles are key - Green Left Weekly - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians against fascism: continuing the culture of resistance - Straight.com - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- What Chaos? The Trump Steam Roller has it Under Control - AmmoLand Shooting Sports News - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- 31 Life Lessons After 30 Years - The Good Men Project (blog) - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- No Room for Compromise on Lower Tipped Minimum - Eater Twin Cities (blog) - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Netflix is Allowing 13th to be Shown to the Public Without a Subscription - The Urban Twist - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Mayor Betsy Hodges says tip credits are bad for women - City Pages - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Washington State Rep Endorsed Slavery When Confronted by Voter - The Pacific Tribune - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Tesla warns that 'thousands' of Model 3 reservations holders will go outside of Connecticut to buy without direct sales - Electrek - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- National Prison Strike Exposes Need for Labor Rights Behind Bars - Toward Freedom - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- New: Berkeley's New Ideology: A critique of the Strategic Plan - Berkeley Daily Planet - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- Column: Farmworkers, immigration and local food - GazetteNET - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Forced to work? 60000 undocumented immigrants may sue detention center - Christian Science Monitor - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- Slavery 'lieutenant' jailed for 'heinous offences' - Bradford Telegraph and Argus - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- The Confederacy was a con job on whites. And still is. - News & Observer - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- VIDEO: Street cleaners fight for London Living Wage from ... - Wandsworth Guardian - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- VIDEO: Street cleaners fight for London Living Wage from Continental Landscapes - Your Local Guardian - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- Restaurant-backed campaign enters minimum wage debate - Southwest Journal - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- VIDEO: Street cleaners fight for London Living Wage from ... - Your Local Guardian - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- Erica Armstrong Dunbar Talks Never Caught, the True Story of George Washington's Runaway Slave - Paste Magazine - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- Fountain pen prices 'write' out there - Sault Star - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- Role of servers' tips fires up Minneapolis debate over $15-an-hour ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- Carson receives backlash after appearing to compare slaves to immigrants - WCVB Boston - March 7th, 2017 [March 7th, 2017]
- Wash Post: At Least 60000 Immigrants Were Forced to Work for $1 or Less Per Day - Newsmax - March 7th, 2017 [March 7th, 2017]
- Italian Nationalists Vent Fury Following Migrant Camp Fire - Breitbart News - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- Ben Carson Says Slaves In America Were Just Low Wage Immigrants - The Ring of Fire Network - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- Child labor in Seattle: Mexican girl kept in near slavery - seattlepi.com - seattlepi.com - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- 10 Ways American Crime Season 3 Exposes Modern Slavery - Rotten Tomatoes - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- Daily Reads: Trump Fills Government with Lobbyists; It's Been a Hot Winter, Blame Climate Change - BillMoyers.com - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- America the Ahistorical: Ben Carson and the Dangers of Willful Ignorance - Rewire - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- How a Mini-Retirement Brought Meaning to My Life - Entrepreneur - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Capitalist Globalization of Labor is Modern Colonialism - Truth-Out - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Gumtree pulls 'slave labour' domestic worker advert - Times LIVE - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Reese vs. Nicole vs. Bette vs. Joan? It's Not Too Early to Get Psyched for Best Actress at the Emmys - Decider - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Readers sound off on slavery, the CIA and Mike Francesa - New York Daily News - March 12th, 2017 [March 12th, 2017]
- Raped, beaten, exploited: the 21st-century slavery propping up Sicilian farming - The Guardian - March 12th, 2017 [March 12th, 2017]
- It's Alive! It's Alive!: Our Film Critic Previews The 60th San Francisco International Film Festival - East Bay Express - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- LETTER: Getting our history wrong - Leavenworth Times - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Small World: Ranking the rank - The Bridgton News - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Is Passover Broken Beyond Repair? - Forward - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Caribbean Reparations Movement Must Put Capitalism on Trial - teleSUR English - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Two Democratic hopefuls for Va. governor on schools, Metro and the minimum wage - Washington Post - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- The Myth of the Kindly General Lee - The Atlantic - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Big business backs Labor call for new anti-slavery legislation - The Sydney Morning Herald - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Paying Inmates Minimum Wages Helps the Working Class ... - Bloomberg - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Slavery law to protect supply chains backed by big companies - The Australian Financial Review - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Filipino Women Against Modern Day Slavery - Workers World - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Paying minimum wage to inmates helps the working class - Chicago ... - Chicago Tribune - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Nova Ruth Wants To Free Us From The Bondage Of Wage Slavery - Village Voice - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- A Myopic View Of Robert E. Lee - National Review - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Jeff Sessions Says Social Media, Encrypted Apps Hamper War on 'Modern Slavery' - Reason (blog) - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Modern-day slavery alive in Cambridge as couple refuses wages to domestic worker: AG - Metro US - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Education & Wage Slavery | The Middle Finger Project - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- 21 sad and shocking facts ahead of World Day Against Child Labour - ReliefWeb - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- Australia: Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiry into ... - Human Rights Watch (press release) - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- 4 Signs You are a Slave to Your Job | The Unbounded Spirit - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- It's True: Black Women Are Working Harder And Getting Less In Return - Essence.com - June 10th, 2017 [June 10th, 2017]
- Taxi drivers are hit by '21st century slavery' in Uber row over fares - expressandstar.com - June 10th, 2017 [June 10th, 2017]
- The eco guide to prison labour - The Guardian - June 11th, 2017 [June 11th, 2017]
- Fashion doesn't empower all women - The Guardian - June 11th, 2017 [June 11th, 2017]
- Slave wages in Zimbabwe farms - The Standard - The Zimbabwe Standard - June 11th, 2017 [June 11th, 2017]
- Exeter car wash owner in court accused of posing modern slavery risk - Devon Live - June 12th, 2017 [June 12th, 2017]
- The scout system at Oxford must be scrapped - Cherwell Online - June 12th, 2017 [June 12th, 2017]