The CROWN Act and What It Means for Black Women in the Workplace

More than 24 states have passed versions of the CROWN Act — legislation prohibiting discrimination based on hair texture and protective hairstyles in workplaces, schools, and public spaces. The law's spread reflects a broader cultural shift in how natural and protective hair styles are perceived and protected.

What Happened

The CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) was first passed in California in 2019. Since then, more than 24 states have enacted versions of the law, which explicitly prohibits discrimination based on hair texture and protective styles including braids, locs, twists, and Bantu knots. Federal legislation has passed the House but has not yet cleared the Senate as of early 2025.

The movement gained significant momentum after high-profile cases of students and employees being disciplined, fired, or denied opportunities because of their natural hair — cases that documented what Black women, in particular, had known and experienced for decades.

Why It Matters to the Industry

The CROWN Act matters beyond its legal protections. It represents a formal acknowledgment — at the legislative level — that hair discrimination is real, documented, and serious enough to require statutory protection. That acknowledgment changes the cultural conversation in ways that ripple beyond the courtroom.

• It gives people in states with the law a legal framework to challenge discrimination they've historically been expected to absorb silently
• It signals to employers and school administrators that natural hair policies need to be reviewed and revised
• It validates the cultural and personal significance of protective styles and natural hair choices that have always existed — the law didn't create the value, it recognized it

What It Means for Clients

If you live in a state with CROWN Act protections, you have a legal right to wear your natural hair, protective styles, locs, braids, and twists in your workplace and school without facing discipline or discriminatory policies. If you've experienced hair discrimination, the CROWN Coalition website maintains a reporting tool and resource guide.

For those of you who've worn your knotless braids or faux locs to a job interview or first day of work with some anxiety about how they'd be received — that anxiety has always been valid, and the law is slowly catching up to address the conditions that created it.