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When I got to work last week with a bunch of (about
10) fat braids/plaits all over I was searching for a
ponytail holder to pull them back and out of the way.
My co-worker asked me if I had been told that I
couldn’t wear braids because they are too
unprofessional. I hadn’t ever heard anything about
that so I was confused. Well the backstory is: There
was a mandatory meeting for all of us security
Are braids too unprofessional
personnel at my job. I went to mine without a hitch
for work?
but apparently in one of the other meetings the
Hispanic woman leading the meetings (not even
sure of her position in the big office) pulled aside
my co-worker and another Black girl and told them that they couldn’t wear braids
because they were unprofessional.
Wow. I was taken aback. Isn’t this racist? Braids and twists are predominantly
worn by Black people (I already know other races wear braids but not often and it
isn’t a part of their heritage). They are immediately associated with Black people. I
think that to ban hairstyles that are so closely related to a race or their heritage is
racist. What other race is going to be hurt by this ruling?
This isn’t even the first time that this has happened since I’ve been in security.
Universal Citywalk’s security team has a “No Braids/No twists” clause written into
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the dress code. The Black supervisor there told me that I could just wear a
ponytail everyday like her. (Ponytails are professional?) That woman was also
relaxed.
My being natural makes this seem extra unfair. I just finished a protective style
challenge in which braids and twists played an integral part of growing out my
hair. Now I know that most places have a problem with unnatural hair color or wild
hair styles but braids don’t fall into either category. I believe that they might find
Afros, twist-outs/braid-outs to be wild hair styles. I have a problem with that too,
since I’m natural, but braids are different because they are a way to make the hair
lay down neatly and not be up and free flowing. I don’t see how they can be
deemed unprofessional. How is a natural haired woman supposed to wear her
hair? What if your hair isn’t long enough for a ponytail or you don’t want the
damage associated with pulling the hair back all the time. I don’t wear ponytails
much personally because my hair breaks from the tension and manipulation. I
would be lost if I wasn’t allowed to braid/twist my hair. How would I ever be able to
wear a braid out after work if I can’t braid my hair? Are all braid styles
unprofessional or just some? Cornrows? Individuals? I have had some people on
youtube say that they don’t think its racist and that a company should be able to
have the image that they want. What do you think? Should a company be able to
tell me how to wear my hair? Should hair policy be universal like the military
length or everyone having to wear a ponytail regardless of race? Why can my
white co-worker wear 1 cornrow down the back of her hair and not be pulled
aside. Braids on straight hair are also braids right? Lots of questions and now I’m
rambling with em. Let me know what you think. By the way, I have NOT stopped
wearing braids because this was not said to me directly but if it is said to me I
might have to find recourse.
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everybody! I am back
from my trip home to NJ.
What a great week! I wore
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Tags: Black hair style discrimination, Black hair styles banned, braids are unacceptable, braids
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11/05/2012 22:22
Verlean Coman
That lady may have just been
expressing her opinion...and until her
opinion becomes policy rock those
braids!
Reply ·
4 · Like · Follow Post · December
22, 2011 at 5:33am
Ange Taylor ·
Subscribe ·
Commenter · Vallejo
Top
I can't remember her last name but the
first was Valerie. She was a newscaster
for KGO7 news, who sued them back in
the 80's for them not allowing her to
wear her extensions on the air. Right
after that, I was working mall security
at a Bay Area mall and was told by the
black assistant security director that the
white security director and the mall
manager said that I had to remove my
braids. I know the mall manager said
something because when he saw me
earlier he almost ran to the mall office.
It had taken me 11 hours to get my hair
braided and that was not to mention the
numerous packages of hair and the
money to get it braided. I was told too
that it was unprofessional. I told them
that per the handbook I had to sign for,
all it said about hair was that the men
were to have it about the collar. Mine
was pinned up about the collar. I told
them that...first off I was ashamed that
the black director let himself be used
like that, and that when they tell all of
the white and mexican women to put
their hair up I might consider it. But I let
them know about Valerie and the
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Afficher les 11
11/05/2012 22:22
to “Racist Job Policy! My job says: “Braids are
Unprofessional””
Law Office of Annette Newman, LLC says:
December 22, 2011 at 9:00 am
More information about what the law says about hair and discrimination:
10-261 Labor and Employment Law § 261.03
Labor and Employment Law
Copyright 2011, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., a member of the LexisNexis Group.
Part IX General Employment Law
CHAPTER 261 Terms, Conditions, Privileges of Employment, and Independent
Contractor Status
10-261 Labor and Employment Law § 261.03
§ 261.03 Dress, Grooming, and Appearance Guidelines
[1] Generally
In order to project a certain image or create an atmosphere that is conducive to work,
many employers have specific dress, grooming and appearance standards for their
employees. The general rule of law is that an employer is legally permitted to set its own
grooming and appearance standards. Employers may, and typically do, adopt a
conservative approach to matters of public image.
In some cases, the application of such requirements has resulted in discrimination
claims, most typically based on sex, race, national origin and/or religion. 1 As a general
rule, the federal courts that have considered dress, grooming, and appearance codes
have held that reasonable standards uniformly applied do not violate Title VII. The two
principal exceptions are where the standards are applied in a disparate manner to the
disadvantage of a protected class, or where the uniform application of the standard
would have an adverse disproportionate impact on such a protected group.
[3] Hair Length/Style
The Kleinsorge decision continued a developing trend in the courts, permitting
employers to enforce different grooming standards for male and female employees. For
example, another U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Blockbuster did not engage in illegal
sex discrimination in establishing different hair length standards for men and women.
Similarly, a federal court in Indiana ruled that Wal-Mart’s grooming policy requiring men’s
hairlines only to be maintained above the collar was not illegal. 4 Other men-only
short-hair policies upheld by state and federal courts include policies of the Trump Plaza
Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, and the New York Mercantile Exchange. 5
Even easier hair cases involve equal treatment of men and women. In a federal case in
Kansas, a female correctional officer, who was ordered to wear her hair in a bun
because the employer forbade ponytails due to security risks, alleged the policy
adversely affected females. But there was no evidence of male officers who violated the
same regulation by wearing ponytails or having hair long enough to do so. 6
Presumably, long-haired male officers would have been subject to the same requirement
of gathering long hair in a bun style.
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Standards regulating hairstyles may be challenged as causing disparate treatment on
the basis of race. Thus, where an employer was alleged to have evaluated an African
American woman’s hairstyle, but not Caucasian women’s, for compliance with the dress
code, the employee stated a claim for race discrimination under Title VII. 7 The employer
conceded that the plaintiff’s hairstyle was “neat and well groomed” as required by the
company’s policy, but was inappropriate because it was too “eye catching.” The
company went so far as to require the plaintiff to seek permission before wearing any
new hairstyle. Because the evidence showed that the African American employee was
treated differently than White employees with regard to nearly identical hairstyles, the
court permitted her claim to proceed to a jury.
[5] Legal Limits on Dress Codes/Grooming Standards
Although employers have substantial latitude in enforcing personal appearance,
grooming and hygiene standards at work, there are several limitations–depending on the
jurisdiction(s) in which the employer does business.
[a] Conflicts with Immutable Characteristics or Religion. This employer right generally
ends where the standards conflict with immutable characteristics relevant to federal,
state or local antidiscrimination laws, such as factors intertwined with sex, race, national
origin, disability, or religion. With regard to religion and national origin, a Fact Sheet
published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission identifies as unlawful
discrimination:
Harassing or otherwise discriminating because of physical, cultural, or linguistic
characteristics, such as accent or dress associated with a particular religion, ethnicity, or
country of origin. For example, harassing a woman wearing a hijab (a body covering
and/or head-scarf worn by some Muslims), or not hiring a man with a dark complexion
and an accent believed to be Arab. 11
Some courts have held that no-facial hair policies have a disparate impact on AfricanAmerican males because they suffer disproportionately from the skin condition
pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), which is exacerbated by shaving. 12 Long hair, facial
hair, and certain hairstyles are also a characteristic of certain religions. 13 Employers
need not provide exemptions from dress or grooming codes for religious reasons,
however, where such an accommodation would prove to be an undue hardship. 14
Height or weight standards that are neutral on their face may nonetheless be
discriminatory, where they have an adverse impact on a protected class of individuals.
Thus, the EEOC takes the position because “height or weight requirements tend to
exclude individuals on the basis of national origin, the user is expected to evaluate these
selection procedures for adverse impact, regardless of whether the total selection
process has an adverse impact based on national origin.” 15
Similarly, female airline attendants successfully attacked their airline’s weight limit
policies as sex discrimination under Title VII because the range of acceptable weights for
women corresponded to the “medium frame” category for females on a weight chart,
whereas the acceptable weight range for male flight attendants corresponded to the
“large frame” category for males. 16 In reaching this conclusion, the court observed:
A sex-differentiated appearance standard that imposes unequal burdens on men and
women is disparate treatment that must be justified as a BFOQ. Thus, an employer can
require all employees to wear sex-differentiated uniforms, but it cannot require only
female employees to wear uniforms … . An airline can require all flight attendants to
wear contacts instead of glasses, but it cannot require only its female flight attendants to
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do so. 17
While reasonable dress, grooming and appearance restrictions are permissible,
employers must be alert to how their workforces react and potentially retaliate against
employees exhibiting behavior perceived to be inappropriate. 20
[6] Grooming Code Checklist
The following compliance checklist should be reviewed in the evaluation or formulation
of dress, appearance, and grooming codes.
Are the dress, appearance and grooming standards reasonably related to the
performance of the job or jobs in question?
Since it is impossible to anticipate every basis for asserting an impact claim concerning
dress, appearance and grooming standards, an effort should be made to insure that all
criteria bear a demonstrable relationship to the job or jobs to which they apply.
Personal or idiosyncratic notions of employees’ personal appearances, dress, etc.
should yield to generally accepted standards.
Is the code flexible enough to allow for deviations when essential?
An employee’s religion may dictate the wearing of a garment or hairstyle proscribed by a
dress code. Alternately, a code requirement that a person wear a particular item of
clothing may conflict with an individual’s religious tenets. In both instances, the company
policy should provide for an individual determination of whether or not a dress code
waiver is appropriate. 21
An employee’s medical condition may give rise to an obligation to modify an employer’s
dress code in order to provide a “reasonable accommodation” required by the Americans
With Disabilities Act, e.g., permitting a hearing impaired employee to wear a hearing aid.
22
Where the standards must vary between sexes to take into account socially sanctioned
differences, are they nonetheless similar in the degree to which they intrude upon the
rights of male and female employees?
Employers may prohibit males from wearing earrings and other jewelry which females
are permitted to wear. However, imposing very rigorous dress or grooming requirements
on females and adopting a laissez-faire attitude towards males would, in the eyes of
most, constitute unlawful discrimination.
In sum, dress, grooming and appearance claims can be based on different theories that
yield different conclusions as to employer liability.
Reply
Law Office of Annette Newman, LLC says:
December 22, 2011 at 8:27 am
Here is some more information that the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (http://www.eeoc.gov) has provided about the subject about
grooming standards and discrimination in regard to hair. I also provided a link where you
can also see this information on the EEOC website.
5. Appearance and Grooming Standards
Appearance standards generally must be neutral, adopted for nondiscriminatory
reasons, consistently applied to persons of all racial and ethnic groups, and, if the
standard has a disparate impact, it must be job-related and consistent with business
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necessity.(151) The following are examples of areas in which appearance standards
may implicate Title VII’s prohibition against race discrimination:
Height and Weight: Standards for height and weight sometimes are challenged as
having an unlawful adverse impact. For example, a requirement that employees be at
least six feet tall might have an adverse impact on Asian Americans due to average
height and weight differences, and thus such a requirement would need to be job-related
and consistent with business necessity.(152)
Dress: An employer can impose the same dress code on all workers in similar jobs,
regardless of their race or ethnicity, as long as the policy was not adopted for
discriminatory reasons and is enforced evenhandedly. However, an employer must treat
racial or ethnic attire that complies with the dress code the same as other attire that
complies with the dress code.(153) For example, Title VII prohibits employers from
banning the wearing of traditional Hawaiian dress that complies with the employer’s
dress code requirements.
Hair: Employers can impose neutral hairstyle rules – e.g., that hair be neat, clean, and
well-groomed – as long as the rules respect racial differences in hair textures and are
applied evenhandedly. For example, Title VII prohibits employers from preventing African
American women from wearing their hair in a natural, unpermed “afro” style that
complies with the neutral hairstyle rule. Title VII also prohibits employers from applying
neutral hairstyle rules more restrictively to hairstyles worn by African Americans.(154)
Beards: Employers generally can require employees to be clean-shaven. However, Title
VII requires an employer to make exceptions to a no-beard policy for men with
pseudofolliculitis barbae, an inflammatory skin condition that occurs primarily in Black
men and that is caused by shaving, unless being clean-shaven is job-related and
consistent with business necessity (see Example 9 and accompanying footnote).
http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/race-color.html#VIIB5
Reply
Law Office of Annette Newman, LLC says:
December 21, 2011 at 3:07 pm
Cooper v. American Airlines, 1998 U.S. App. LEXIS 10426 (4th Cir. Va. May
26, 1998)
CASE SUMMARY
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff employee appealed an order of the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria, which dismissed her
claims of racial discrimination by the defendant employer.
OVERVIEW: The employee, a flight attendant, began wearing her hair in multiple small
braids and was told that she violated the grooming policy, which then prohibited
hairstyles consisting completely of braids. The employee removed the braids. After
exhausting her administrative remedies, the employee filed an action in federal district
court maintaining that the grooming policy prohibiting braids and a revised policy were
racially discriminatory in that they disparately impacted black female employees. The
employee also raised a claim of disparate treatment, alleging that she had been verbally
reprimanded for violating the grooming policy, while white employees who violated the
policy were not reprimanded. The district court dismissed the action for failure to state a
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claim upon which relief could be granted, reasoning that the employee’s challenge to the
grooming policy in effect prior to August 1993 was moot; that the grooming policy
adopted in August 1993 did not constitute an unlawful employment practice; and that the
employee had failed to allege a cognizable claim for disparate treatment. The court
affirmed and held that it found no error on the part of the district court.
OUTCOME: The court affirmed the decision of the district court, which dismissed
employee’s claims of racial discrimination by her employer.
Barbara Cooper appeals an order of the district court dismissing her claims of racial
discrimination by her employer, American Airlines, Inc. (American). See [*2] 42 U.S.C.A.
§ 2000e-2(a) (West 1994). Finding no error, we affirm.
I.
Cooper has been employed by American as a flight attendant since 1989. In October
1992, Cooper began wearing her hair in multiple small braids. She subsequently was
informed by her supervisor that the braids violated American’s grooming policy, which
then prohibited “hairstyles consisting completely of braids.” J.A. 20 (internal quotation
marks omitted). Cooper removed the braids.
After exhausting her administrative remedies, Cooper filed this action in federal district
court maintaining that the grooming policy prohibiting braids and a revised policy
adopted in 1993 * were racially discriminatory in that they disparately impacted black
female employees, who were more likely for cultural reasons to wear their hair in braids.
Cooper also raised a claim of disparate treatment, alleging that she had been verbally
reprimanded for violating the grooming policy, while white employees who violated the
policy were not reprimanded.
FOOTNOTES
* The revised policy permitted “fully or partially braided hairstyles, without beads or trim”
so long as any loose braids were “secured to the head or at the nape of the neck.” J.A.
21 (internal quotation marks omitted).
[*3] The district court dismissed the action for failure to state a claim upon which relief
could be granted, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), reasoning that Cooper’s challenge to the
grooming policy in effect prior to August 1993 was moot; that the grooming policy
adopted in August 1993 did not constitute an unlawful employment practice; and that
Cooper had failed to allege a cognizable claim for disparate treatment.
II.
After reviewing the parties’ briefs and the applicable law, and having had the benefit of
oral argument, we conclude that the district court correctly dismissed Cooper’s
complaint. Accordingly, we affirm.
AFFIRMED
Reply
Law Office of Annette Newman, LLC says:
December 21, 2011 at 2:56 pm
I am an employment law attorney and was an H.R. Manager for 15 years prior
to practicing law. The supreme court has ruled that discrimination based upon
hairstyle is not unlawful. An employer can impose reasonable dress and grooming
standards, even if those standards differentiate between men and women. There have
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been some cases in which black men have complained about standards prohibiting
facial hair because a significant percentage of black men grow beards to avoid problems
caused by ingrown hairs causing follicle infections. The court found in this case they had
a legitimate reason for an exception to grooming standards because of the health issues.
The courts found that there seems to be no compelling reason for anyone to have to
braid their hair. The found it isn’t race discrimination if the employer prohibits both black
and white employees from wearing braids, if the company objects to the hair style for
example because it doesn’t fit the corporae image or creates a safety hazard. However,
it would be discriminatory if they didn’t allow black employees to wear braids but allowed
employees of another race, to wear braids.
Reply
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