In the past month, Pennsylvania and its two largest cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, enacted legislation that will affect employers across the Commonwealth. Pennsylvania adopted legislation to protect against discrimination based on a person’s hairstyle; Pittsburgh amended its anti-discrimination ordinance to expand the definition of “discrimination”; and Philadelphia passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause.
Pennsylvania Enacts CROWN Act
On November 25, 2025, Governor Shapiro signed H.B. 439 – also known as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act (“CROWN Act”) – into law, codifying new definitions of “race” and “religion” under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA).
Under the CROWN Act, the definition of the word “race” under the PHRA now includes traits historically associated with an individual’s race, including their hair texture and protective hairstyles, including but not limited to locs, braids, twists, coils, Bantu knots, afros and extensions. Additionally, the definition of “religious creed” now includes head coverings and hairstyles historically associated with religious beliefs.
The CROWN Act does not take effect until the end of January 2026, but largely codifies regulations that were enacted by the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission in 2022, although the regulations did not specifically define the word “religious creed” to include religious-based...
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