When hair acts as a proxy for race, the bill declares, discrimination targeting hairstyles associated with race is racial discrimination. "Workplace dress code and grooming policies that prohibit natural hair, including afros, braids, twists, and locks, have a disparate impact on Black individuals as these policies are more likely to deter Black applicants and burden or punish Black employees than any other group," the bill states.
Although the California law is the first statewide discrimination ban based on hair, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) released enforcement guidance identifying discrimination based on natural hair and hairstyles as a form of race discrimination earlier this year.
The NYCCHR guidance indicates that, while requiring employees to maintain a work-appropriate appearance is lawful, banning, limiting or otherwise restricting natural hair or hairstyles closely associated with the racial, ethnic or cultural identities of black people is unlawful discrimination. These styles include dreadlocks, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, Afros and/or hair in an uncut or untrimmed state.