NYS and NJ Prohibit Hair and Religious Attire Discrimination By Alexandra Lapes, Esq. and Tracey I. Levy, Esq.
Posted by StarChapter on Mar. 10, 2020 / Subscribe 0
Recent changes to New York State and New Jersey law now make explicit that employers must be mindful of even seemingly neutral dress codes and grooming standards that adversely impact individuals based on their race or religion. Two recent incidents were part of the impetus behind these laws:
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In New York City, a Sikh employee who sued his employer, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, for being told he had to remove his turban and wear the MTA hat, or that if he wore the turban he must brand it with the MTA's logo. The employee asserted that wearing a turban is a solemn religious duty for Sikhs and branding it with a badge would be religiously improper.
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In New Jersey, an incident in which an Atlantic County high school wrestler was forced by the referee to either cut his dreadlocks or forfeit the match. The referee would not let the student wear a head cover over his deadlocks and told the wrestler his hair was “unnatural,” and he had 90 seconds to cut it. The crowd watched as the wrestler’s coach cut his hair in the middle of the gym, until the referee was “satisfied with the length.”
New York State amended its Human Rights Law to explicitly prohibit employment discrimination based on the wearing of any attire, clothing, or facial hair in compliance with an employee's or applicant's religion. New York State also recently expanded the definition of race under the Human Rights Law to include "traits historically associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and protective hairstyles." The term “protective hairstyles” includes “braids, locks, and twists.” New Jersey also amended its Law Against Discrimination and became the third state (after California) to codify and expand on past guidance and expressly prohibit hairstyle discrimination as a form of race discrimination.
As a result of these legal changes, employers should review policies that define "professional appearance" or “corporate image” to ensure that they do not explicitly or in practice ban, limit, or restrict natural hairstyles associated with African Americans or religious garb associated with a sincerely held religious belief. Important to note, even if a policy is facially neutral, it may violate discrimination laws if unfairly applied or selectively enforced against a particular race or religion.
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