Louisiana’s Unfair Hair Discrimination at Work is Coming to a End
It's 2021, and high time (in my opinion) to leave some of the stupider rules and regulations we have had to abide by in the past. Obviously, that's the way it's supposed to work - you do your best to make the laws for the benefit of all of our citizens, and then you change them when you realize that it's not working the way it's supposed to. It's also a great time to re-evaluate laws that were never really working for everyone in the first place.
It seems that some laws put in place to protect employers from lawsuits from disgruntled employees also gave folks all of the legal immunity they needed to discriminate against people with hairstyles they didn't like. On one hand, it makes sense that your boss sets rules that makes sure you look professional when dealing with customers. According to some, that particular policy also allows for discrimination in the workplace of African-American employees that choose to wear their hair naturally.
According to the American Press, recently elected New Orleans democratic senator Troy Carter authored the bill that would would add hairstyles to the anti-discrimination law already on the books in Louisiana. Currently, employers are forbidden from discriminating against employees based on their race, religion, sex or national origin. The actual wording of this bill links certain hairstyles to race, including: Hair texture and hairstyles such as braids, twists and natural hair.
The measure isn't law just yet. Although it passed unanimously in the Louisiana Senate, it still has to make it through a House of Representatives debate and final vote. Once it passes those hurdles, it could become the law of the land as soon as August 1st of this year.
Personally, I think there is such a lack of good workers willing to show up on time every day - hair (as long as it's presentable) shouldn't be something that holds anyone back.