Colorado recently prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of hair under a new law that takes effect on Sept. 14, 2020. 

The “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act of 2020” (CROWN Act) prohibits race discrimination on the basis of hair texture, hair type or a protective hairstyle that is commonly or historically associated with race. A “protective hairstyle” includes braids, locs, twists, tight coils or curls, cornrows, Bantu knots, Afros and headwraps. Other states have recently enacted similar legislation — in 2019 New York and California banned discrimination based on hair, followed by New Jersey and Virginia in 2020.

Related resources

Non-Mercer resource

• Signed act (HB20-1048) and other documentation (Colorado General Assembly, March 6, 2020)

Mercer Law & Policy Resources

• US: California employers can’t discriminate based on hair (July 11, 2019)
• New York bans discrimination based on religious clothing, facial hair (Aug. 19, 2019)
• US: New Jersey employers cannot discriminate based on hair (Jan. 16, 2020)