Estimated reading time: 17 minutes

Key Takeaways

• Hair discrimination in the workplace happens when employers penalize natural hair textures or protective styles, which is often race-based and unlawful under many state CROWN laws and existing anti-discrimination statutes.

• More than 20 states have passed CROWN Acts prohibiting hair-based bias, but protections vary by jurisdiction, so your legal options depend on where you work.

• Discriminatory grooming policies can lead to hiring bias, discipline, lost promotions, or termination; employers who allow this can face legal consequences, including damages and policy changes.

• Hair discrimination harms mental and physical health—pressure to straighten or chemically treat hair can cause scalp damage and is linked in research to increased cancer risk with certain products.

• If you experience hair discrimination, document it, report it internally, and consider filing with the EEOC or your state agency within strict 180/300-day (or state) deadlines to preserve your rights.

• Strong cases combine clear evidence (policies, messages, comparators, witness statements) with knowledge of local CROWN protections and federal race-discrimination remedies.

Table of Contents

• Key Takeaways

• Table of Contents

• Introduction

• What Is Hair Discrimination?

• Examples of Unlawful Policies

• Why Hair Discrimination Is Racial Discrimination

• Mental and Physical Health Impacts

• The CROWN Act Landscape

• State and Local CROWN Laws

• Federal Efforts to Ban Hair Discrimination

• Employer Grooming Policies: What’s Allowed and What’s Not

• Safety and Hygiene Exceptions

• How Violations Show Up at Work

• How to Protect Your Rights and File a Claim

• Evidence Checklist

• Deadlines and Agencies

• Remedies and Case Outcomes

• Practical Tips for Employers and Allies

• Conclusion

• FAQ

• Is hair discrimination illegal in my state?

• Can my employer ban locs, braids, or afros?

• What if my job says customers prefer straight hair?

• Can I be fired for refusing to straighten my hair?

• What evidence helps in a hair discrimination case?

Introduction

Hair discrimination in the workplace is a widespread problem that targets natural hair textures and protective styles, especially for Black employees. It shows up in hiring, dress codes, discipline, and promotion decisions, and it often hides behind words like “professionalism” or “fit.”

Across the U.S., new laws are closing loopholes while existing civil rights protections still apply. If you’re facing biased hair rules, you are not alone and you may have strong legal options. This guide explains the law, real risks, and practical steps to protect your job and well-being.

What Is Hair Discrimination?

Hair and grooming discrimination occurs when employers treat workers differently because of their hairstyle, texture, or grooming choices. It can include policies that target natural textures or styles linked to racial identity, such as afros, twists, braids, Bantu knots, or locs.

As a matter of law and policy, hair discrimination involves adverse actions—like refusing to hire, disciplining, or firing—based on natural hair or cultural styles. That definition aligns with authoritative resources describing hair and grooming discrimination in the workplace and with guidance explaining that it occurs when an employer takes adverse action against an employee or applicant because of their natural hairstyle.

For a deeper practical walkthrough, see our step-by-step guide to hairstyle discrimination at work, your rights, and how to challenge unlawful policies.

Examples of Unlawful Policies

Hair discrimination can be obvious or subtle. Common examples include blanket bans on protective styles, rules forcing hair to be worn “straight,” or “professionalism” standards that single out natural Black hair.

Diversity and inclusion experts note that hair discrimination often looks like banning hairstyles such as dreadlocks or requiring hair to be worn in a particular way. Commentary from worker-focused advocates likewise flags that prohibiting natural hairstyles or hair of a particular texture is hair discrimination, and many view such rules as a form of racism when they disproportionately impact Black employees.

Why Hair Discrimination Is Racial Discrimination

Hair bias is not just about grooming—it’s about race. Legal and economic analysts have found that hair-based discrimination is essentially race-based and produces serious societal and economic harms. As one legal insight explains, the evidence consistently shows that hair-based discrimination is essentially race-based and imposes substantial social and economic costs.

The leading civil rights organizations also emphasize that race-based hair discrimination perpetuates unequal treatment and cultural erasure. The Legal Defense Fund explains how race-based hair discrimination perpetuates systemic racism and why it must be stopped.

Labor economists similarly confirm the policy rationale behind reform: the CROWN Act aims to prohibit hair-based discrimination at work and in schools, recognizing the link between natural hair and racial identity.

Workplace culture is evolving. Some legal commentators describe a growing push to move away from biased “professionalism” norms and toward equal treatment of natural hair, noting the trend to challenge policies targeting Black hair as discriminatory and outdated. See discussion of that trend in insights on the growing recognition and debate around professionalism standards and Black hair.

If your experience with hair rules overlaps with racial jokes, stereotypes, or harsher discipline, you may also have a traditional race-discrimination claim under Title VII and state law. Learn more in our plain-English guide to racial discrimination in the workplace and our overview of which laws prohibit racial discrimination at work.

Mental and Physical Health Impacts

Hair discrimination harms health. The pressure to conform to Eurocentric hair standards can cause emotional distress, anxiety, and shame. It can also push workers to use harsh chemical straighteners, causing pain and scalp damage.

Consumer health experts warn that hair discrimination may drive harmful hair practices—causing scalp damage, pain, and increased cancer risk associated with certain chemical straighteners. Your well-being matters. You deserve a workplace where your natural hair is fully accepted and protected.

The CROWN Act Landscape

The CROWN (“Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair”) movement has reshaped legal protections. It recognizes that discrimination based on natural hair textures and styles associated with race is a civil rights issue, not a dress-code preference.

The official CROWN Act resource explains the movement’s history and purpose: building a world where natural hair is respected and protected. In California, for example, the CROWN Act expanded existing state civil rights law to cover hair-based discrimination in both workplaces and schools, as explained by Legal Aid at Work’s CROWN Act fact sheet.

State and Local CROWN Laws

State protections have grown quickly. As of recent reporting, more than 20 states have enacted CROWN laws banning discrimination tied to natural hair texture and protective styles. But each law is a little different.

Compliance and worker protections vary by jurisdiction. Policy trackers emphasize that CROWN laws vary by state and city, though they generally bar discrimination based on natural hair textures and styles commonly associated with race. If you’re unsure whether your state or city has a CROWN law, check current local guidance and speak with an attorney about your options.

Federal Efforts to Ban Hair Discrimination

There has also been federal action. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a version of the CROWN Act that would prohibit discrimination based on hair texture or style nationwide. You can read the text of H.R. 2116 (the CROWN Act of 2022) for details.

While Congress has not yet enacted a federal CROWN law, federal race-discrimination protections still apply where hair rules are used to mask racial bias. Labor policy experts at EPI discuss the CROWN Act’s purpose in combating racial discrimination in employment and education.

Employer Grooming Policies: What’s Allowed and What’s Not

Employers can set reasonable appearance standards, but those rules cannot target natural hair textures or protective styles associated with race. They also cannot be applied in a way that treats some races more harshly than others.

Authoritative resources define hair and grooming discrimination and make clear that employers cross the line when they discipline, refuse to hire, or fire based on natural hair or protective styles. As another legal summary puts it, hair discrimination occurs when an employer takes adverse action against a worker or applicant because of their natural hairstyle.

Examples of unlawful practices include outright bans on protective styles or forced straightening. Inclusion leaders explain that policies banning dreadlocks or requiring a particular hair presentation can be discriminatory. Workers subjected to these rules can and do pursue cases; management-side commentary in Texas acknowledges that employers who commit or allow hair discrimination may face legal consequences.

To understand how hair bias fits into broader civil rights frameworks, review our overview of workplace discrimination laws and employee rights.

Safety and Hygiene Exceptions

Limited safety or hygiene rules may be allowed if they are truly necessary, neutrally applied, and provide reasonable alternatives that do not single out protected textures or styles. For example, a requirement to secure hair under a cap around machinery should apply to all employees with longer hair, regardless of texture or style, and should not require straightening.

Even safety rules can be unlawful if they are used as a pretext to target natural Black hair or if the employer refuses reasonable, non-discriminatory workarounds. When in doubt, ask the employer to explain the specific safety risk and explore alternatives that do not burden protected hair textures or styles.

How Violations Show Up at Work

Hair discrimination affects every stage of employment. It can start with job postings that reference “professional appearance” in a way that discourages natural hair, continue with interview comments about “fit,” and culminate in discipline or termination for “dress code violations.”

Common scenarios include:

• Hiring: Recruiters tell applicants to “fix” their hair before interviews or reject qualified candidates because of locs, braids, or afros.

• Discipline: Supervisors issue write-ups for “unprofessional” hair while allowing similar length or volume for non-Black employees.

• Promotion: Employees are told they are “not client-ready” unless they straighten their hair.

• Customer-facing roles: Employers claim “customer preference” to justify bans on protective styles.

These patterns can violate state CROWN laws and, where policies are racially motivated or applied unevenly, federal and state anti-discrimination laws. Our guide on employer liability for discrimination claims explains how responsibility attaches when managers enforce biased rules or tolerate harassment.

How to Protect Your Rights and File a Claim

Act quickly if you experience hair discrimination. Short deadlines apply, and early evidence can make or break your case.

First, document what happened and consider an internal complaint. If the employer fails to fix it, file with the EEOC or your state fair employment agency. Our step-by-step guides cover how to report workplace discrimination effectively and how to file an EEOC complaint.

If hair rules overlap with racial comments, differential enforcement, or retaliation, make sure your report captures all of it. For additional perspective on building a strong claim, see how to file a discrimination complaint and prove your case.

Evidence Checklist

Collect and preserve:

• Written policies or handbooks with grooming or “professionalism” standards.

• Emails, chat messages, or texts about your hair or appearance (include dates/times).

• Photos of your hair when you were told it violated policy, plus comparators’ hair that was accepted.

• Performance records before and after the hair policy was enforced (to show pretext).

• Witness statements from coworkers who saw or heard key events.

• Any discipline, warnings, or termination documents citing hair.

Documenting the timeline helps agencies and courts evaluate motive, consistency, and whether a neutral policy is being applied in a discriminatory way. For more evidence pointers, review our practical overview of what counts as unlawful discrimination and how to prove it.

Deadlines and Agencies

The general federal deadline to file an EEOC charge is 180 days from the discriminatory act, extended to 300 days if a state or local fair employment agency also enforces a similar law. State CROWN laws may provide additional protections or different filing avenues, but missing a deadline can end your claim.

Start by checking your state’s CROWN coverage and fair employment agency, then consider dual-filing with the EEOC. See our detailed explainer on the workplace discrimination claim process for timelines, mediation, and what to expect after you file.

Remedies and Case Outcomes

Available remedies can include back pay, front pay, reinstatement, policy changes, training, compensatory damages for emotional harm, and sometimes punitive damages where allowed. Many cases resolve through settlement and policy reform that helps protect coworkers as well.

To understand what results are realistic, review our guides on likely outcomes of workplace discrimination lawsuits and factors that influence discrimination settlement negotiations.

Practical Tips for Employers and Allies

Employers should align grooming standards with CROWN laws and civil rights protections. Avoid vague “professionalism” rules that can be weaponized against natural hair. Train managers and update handbooks so policies are clear, neutral, and inclusive.

Safety standards should focus on the task (e.g., securing hair near machinery) and provide alternatives that work for all hair types. Customer preference is not a defense to discrimination.

Allies can help by challenging biased comments, supporting fair policy reviews, and elevating employee concerns. For broader context on preventing bias throughout the workplace, see our practical resource on workplace discrimination prevention strategies.

Conclusion

Hair discrimination in the workplace is more than a dress-code dispute—it is often race discrimination, it harms health, and it costs people jobs and opportunities. State CROWN laws, coupled with existing civil rights protections, give workers concrete tools to fight back. If your employer is pressuring you to change your natural hair or punishing you for protective styles, act quickly to document, report, and file within your deadlines. Strong evidence and a clear record of bias can drive real remedies and lasting policy change.

Need help now? Get a free and instant case evaluation by US Employment Lawyers. See if your case qualifies within 30-seconds at https://usemploymentlawyers.com.

FAQ

Is hair discrimination illegal in my state?

Many states now prohibit hair-based bias under CROWN laws, but coverage and definitions vary. Recent summaries note that more than 20 states ban discrimination tied to natural hair, and compliance experts stress that CROWN laws differ by jurisdiction even as they generally protect textures and styles linked to race. Check your local law and consider how federal race-discrimination protections may also apply.

Can my employer ban locs, braids, or afros?

Blanket bans on protective styles or natural textures are a red flag, especially where CROWN laws apply. Inclusion leaders explain that discriminatory policies include banning dreadlocks or requiring hair to be worn a particular way. Even without a CROWN statute, policies that target natural Black hair can violate race-discrimination laws when used to screen out or punish Black employees.

What if my job says customers prefer straight hair?

“Customer preference” is not a defense to discrimination. Employers remain responsible for compliance, and management-side commentary recognizes that allowing hair discrimination can carry legal consequences. If your employer cites customer preference, ask for the written policy and raise the issue with HR, citing applicable CROWN protections and race-discrimination rules.

Can I be fired for refusing to straighten my hair?

Firing someone because they wear their hair in a natural texture or protective style may violate CROWN laws and race-discrimination statutes. Pressure to chemically straighten hair is particularly troubling because of health risks—consumer health resources highlight scalp damage and increased cancer risks associated with certain chemical straighteners. Document any demands, report internally, and file with the EEOC or your state agency if needed.

What evidence helps in a hair discrimination case?

Gather the written policy, messages about your hair, photos, witness statements, and records showing uneven enforcement. Show how the rule targets natural textures or protective styles associated with race. Policy analyses underscore why the CROWN Act was designed to combat racial discrimination through hair-based rules. For a detailed playbook, start with our resource on challenging hairstyle discrimination at work and our guide on filing an EEOC complaint.