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California to ban hairstyle discrimination

June 28, 2019

The California Legislature has passed a bill that would ban discrimination against hairstyles and enshrine equal rights protections in law for individuals who have afros, braids and other types of hair on their heads. [Cal Coast Times]

Following a 37-0 vote in the California Senate, the state Assembly voted 69-0 Thursday in favor of SB 188. The bill, which now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, would make California the first state in the country to ban discrimination against hairstyles.

SB 188 would make it illegal to discriminate in employment practices, including hiring and firing, over hair texture and protective hairstyles. The ban on hairstyle discrimination would also apply to housing and public education.

Additionally, the bill would redefine race in California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, as well as in its equal rights in education statute, to also include traits historically associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and protective hairstyles. The bill aims to counter alleged discrimination against black workers and prospective workers over their hair and allow them to keep their natural hairstyle.

“Professionalism was, and still is, closely linked to European features and mannerisms, which entails that those who do not naturally fall into Eurocentric norms must alter their appearances, sometimes drastically and permanently, in order to be deemed professional,” the bill states. “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.”


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Thanks for your comment. I believe a lot of people care “one way or another.” Laws are not passed until there are hearings with people testifying for and against.


-14

Don’t dread this law from taking effect, let others doo what they want. It’s not like anyone is going to dye…


-6

And they admit spending your money on this, what do they quietly spend it on?


21

That’s what gets me. People spent time and taxpayer money on this. How much money and time does it take to get a bill like this passed? Such a huge waste of money. I remember these things whenever they want to raise taxes on us.


2

It’s too bad we have to have laws like this, and am as surprised as anybody else, but apparently this is a difficulty for many folks. So until this law starts causing a problem, let’s live with it. It doesn’t affect me one way or another, and it might help others.


-23

What next I want to wear ragged jeans and go barefooted. People join the military knowing th dress code the grooming code and the code of conduct. Then they sue because their newfound religion requires them to grow a beard or wear a turban or a skullcap when is all this bs going to stop.


15

So if you want to have hair perhaps maybe made into a bird house, you choose to have a job somewhere and you one day come into work with a new hair due that’s not workable or maybe its a hazard to the company or employees or customers or to yourself; you can denying having to wear a hat or a hard hat or something that interferes with sanitation of a job or offensive, you now can cry out loud and sue your employer or business or school or government job over your hair but might vice versa protect you that you refuse comply but now cry discrimination for what? Do you think these democrat legislators thought if you want to have cool 4 foot circle hair if it wouldn’t allow to you walk in certain places or work in a cubical or go in a airplane or etc, that you can sue over this now.


I guess hair is the new freedom of speech or discrimination tool to sue anybody you please. Heck, you can pass the word down to Mexico, where the illegal immigrants can take advantage of the new hair due law. Imagine thousands of illegal immigrants coming in illegally at the border demanding asylum and they’re arrested and put in a van for deportation or to asylum judge, they come in with big hair so big that you can’t put them in the van to transport them or border detention centers, they legally can claim discrimination over the health & well being because of their big hair or hair of religion or something else creates a new process, perhaps even longer and guess what good old liberal ACLU or Southern Poverty Law Center comes in, the new discrimination on illegal immigrants to sue the Trump administration on big hair on illegal immigrants denied asylum or unfairness to big hair illegal immigrants, I can see CNN MSNBC ABC CBS NBC etc, cry out loud, the cages was yesterday but now reporting on big hair discrimination.


The laws these democrats introduce every year in this State doesn’t surprise me that 20 years from now maybe dogs, cats, horses, bugs, fish, etc will have their own discrimination laws on them of some kind or maybe grass or tree’s or dirt will have protection laws for them too or maybe food or liquid, what’s next.


7

I read this hoping to see ban on hair length discrimination. I guess if I don’t like your hair and I’m the boss, I can adopt a dress code that requires you to keep your hair extremely short.


-5

Folks,


This new law, supposedly banning discrimination based on hair styles, is just more BS from the worst legislature in America. The fact that Jordan Cunningham voted for this new law reflects poorly on his priorities.


Is there even any proof that anybody has ever been discriminated against based on their ‘hair style’?


The whacky Democrats ought to be ashamed of themselves, more BS.


19

My God,

What a pathetic bunch of people,

Recall them all,

Wasted TAXPAYER MONEY,


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