Last year we got a call from a woman in an infuriating situation She was in college, studying to be a journalist, and working part-time to support herself through school. If you live in America, you’ve probably eaten a meal or two at the national chain where she worked.
At the start of the fall semester in 2020, as the pandemic lockdowns were easing up in New York, she splurged on a new hairstyle and got herself red faux locs. She looked great—she looked just like thousands of other women in New York.
But when she reported to work that week, her bosses said her hair was “extreme.” They were careful not to mention the faux locs themselves. The color was the sticking point, her bosses said, because the company had a policy banning employees from having their hair dyed an “unnatural” color. Her bosses sent her home with a write up, and told her to choose between her hair and her job.
And here was the most infuriating thing: There were other women at the same restaurant with the same color of hair. Except our client was a young Black woman, and those women were not.
Since 2019, it has been illegal in New York State for employers impose a dress code on employees that bans traditionally Black hairstyles. A policy banning faux locs would run afoul of that. But here, something more sinister was happening. This woman’s bosses took a policy that was neutral on its face—a ban on “unnaturally” colored hair—and used it to discriminate.
So she called Granovsky & Sundaresh. Within days we got her back to work, with formal approval that her hair was fine, and we got her paid for the shifts she missed, too. But the entire experience left her, and us, with a bad taste in our mouths.
It was the principal of the thing: We all know that hairstyles are a common way to discriminate. That’s exactly why New York State passed its law. But what was to stop other managers in this big chain—in other states with less protective laws—from doing exactly the same stupid thing, and discriminating against Black servers for having dyed hair?
So we geared up to sue, and we filed with the EEOC.
Fast forward twelve months. Our client still has her job, and will graduate with her degree in journalism in December. And this week we learned that the employer has thrown in the towel, and decided to change its dress code policy. Going forward, it won’t police its server’s hair colors. Sometimes the little victories are the sweetest ones.
Next time you get a meal delivered to your table by a college student with cool hair, give her a nice tip. And if you’re having trouble at work, give us a call.