On July 26, 2022, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law House Bill 4554 \u2013 commonly referred to as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (\u201cCROWN\u201d) Act \u2013 which bans discrimination based on natural and protective hairstyles in all workplaces, public schools, and places of public accommodation (such as restaurants, retail shops and more) in Massachusetts. The law will go into effect on October 24, 2022.<\/p>\n
The CROWN Act specifically prohibits discrimination based on \u201ctraits historically associated with race,\u201d including hair texture, hair type, and \u201cprotective hairstyles.\u201d According to the new law, the term \u201cprotective hairstyle\u201d includes, but is not limited to, braids, locks, twists, Bantu knots, hair coverings, and other formations. Relative to the application of this law in the employment setting, the CROWN Act tasks the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (\u201cMCAD\u201d) with adopting rules, regulations, and policies interpreting and enforcing it.<\/p>\n
The enactment of the CROWN Act represents an important change in Massachusetts law: prior to the passing of this legislation, there was no Massachusetts law specifically prohibiting discrimination related to hair types or styles. By passing the CROWN Act, Massachusetts joins 17 other states in the nation that have enacted similar laws banning hairstyle discrimination in the workplace and other public settings. On the federal level, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a version of the CROWN Act, but that bill has not yet passed in the Senate.<\/p>\n
Massachusetts employers should review their workplace policies and practices\u2014especially those related to harassment, discrimination, personal appearance, and grooming\u2014to ensure that they are in compliance with the Massachusetts CROWN Act. Employers should also offer training to anyone involved in hiring to ensure they appreciate the limits of the organization\u2019s personal appearance and grooming requirements.<\/p>\n
Note that employees who can prove that their employer discriminated against them in violation of this law may recover monetary damages for economic loss as well as punitive damages and attorneys\u2019 fees.<\/p>\n
We encourage employers to reach out to their Bowditch attorney for assistance or further information regarding this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On July 26, 2022, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law House Bill 4554 – commonly referred to as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (“CROWN”) Act – which bans discrimination based on natural and protective hairstyles in all workplaces, public schools, and places of public…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[24,57],"tags":[442,108,443],"class_list":["post-2074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-discrimination","category-higher-education","tag-crown-act","tag-employment-discrimination","tag-hairstyle-discrimination"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n