Illinois Enacts Law Banning Racial Discrimination Based On Hairstyle Or Hair Texture – Employee Rights/ Labour Relations

On July 1, 2022, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law
Senate Bill (SB) 3616, also known as the CROWN
Act. The CROWN (“Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for
Natural Hair”) Act (Public Act 102-1102) amends the Illinois
Human Rights Act (IHRA) to expand the definition of
“race” for the purposes of combatting unlawful
discrimination in Illinois. The CROWN Act will take effect on
January 1, 2023.

The CROWN Act expands the IHRA’s definition of
“race” to include “traits associated with race,
including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective
hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists.” This new
definition means that “[u]nlawful discrimination … against a
person because of his or her actual or perceived race”
pursuant to the IHRA now includes discrimination based on hair
texture or hairstyle.

Notably, Illinois now joins sixteen other states with CROWN Act
laws, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico,
New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington. The U.S. Virgin Islands recently enacted the
Virgin Islands Crown Act of 2022. The Alaska Legislature has
approved antidiscrimination legislation “relating to dress
codes and natural hairstyles,” although Alaska’s governor
has not yet signed the measure into law; the Massachusetts
Legislature is also considering CROWN Act legislation. At the
federal level, CROWN Act legislation (H.R. 2116) passed the U.S. House of
Representatives in March 2022, and companion legislation (S. 888) has been introduced in the U.S.
Senate.

Illinois employers may want to review their grooming policies
and practices to ensure compliance with the CROWN Act.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.