Overview of CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act Legislation

This continuing legal education (CLE) seminar provides an overview of the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act, which prohibits hair texture discrimination in the workplace and schools. 

Presently, the CROWN Act has been enacted in twenty-four (24) states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington plus the United States Virgin Islands. 

The CROWN Act has also been enacted in over forty (40) localities across the country. Examples are as follows: Birmingham, Alabama; Columbus, Ohio; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

We will survey the CROWN Act as implemented in these various jurisdictions. Accordingly, this continuing legal education seminar (CLE) will benefit employment law attorneys (representing plaintiff and defense clients in employment discrimination lawsuits), human resource managers, educational administrators, judges, and law students.

Additionally, attendees will learn more about best practices to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace and schools.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review relevant legal terms, elimination of bias strategies, and  hair texture discrimination laws in the workplace and schools
2. Examine federal, state, and local hair texture discrimination laws in the workplace and schools such as Title VII, Title IX, Fourteenth Amendment, and the CROWN Act
3. Explain the CROWN Act as enacted in (24) states and over forty (40) localities across the country
4. Discuss the CROWN Act distinctions in three states: California, New York, and New Jersey
5. Evaluate the CROWN Act as pending federal legislation in the United States Congress
6. Analyze dress and grooming codes in the workplace and schools
7. Identify best practices and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) tips for allies