A Black job applicant who had recently moved to San Diego in hopes of furthering his career in the audiovisual field filed a discrimination suit this week against an event production company, claiming he was denied employment only after refusing to trim his locks.
The legal claim, which alleges violations of the state Fair Employment and Housing Act, specifically invokes a relatively new California law known as the CROWN Act (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) that bars the use of grooming policies directly targeting Black individuals. The lawsuit is believed to be the first such legal action filed under the CROWN Act, which went into effect in January of last year.
It amends the Fair Employment Act and the California Education Code to effectively expand the definition of race discrimination by including discrimination based on “traits historically associated with race,” such as hair texture and protective African American hairstyles like Afros, braids, twists and locks.
Today, at least 12 states have their own CROWN Acts, including New York, Virginia, Maryland, Colorado and Washington.
The target of the San Diego lawsuit is Encore Global, an Illinois-based event management firm that has an office in San Diego. Jeffrey Thornton, a transplant from...
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