H. Race and Religious Discrimination Based on Hair Restrictions

• Jurisdiction: New York

H. Race and Religious Discrimination Based on Hair Restrictions

In February 2019, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) released its Legal Enforcement Guidance on Race Discrimination on the Basis of Hair, which classifies restrictions on the basis of hair as race discrimination, concluding that hair is inherent to Black identity.¹⁷² The Guidance states that "employers may not enact discriminatory policies that force Black employees to straighten, relax, or otherwise manipulate their hair to conform to...