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Weekly Checklist: It’s Time to Update Your Employee Appearance Policy

FP Weekly members receive a practical and cutting-edge checklist of issues to consider, action steps to take, and goals to accomplish to ensure you remain on the top of your game when it comes to workplace relations and employment law compliance. This week we are republishing a checklist of items to consider when revising your employee appearance policy and dress code – an especially timely topic given the news that the U.S. Senate has relaxed its traditional dress code.

Evolving Workplace Expectations and Standards

Pandemic prompted changes. Many workplaces have become more casual in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this movement. Employers and co-workers alike probably don’t mind when a cat, dog, or child occasionally makes an appearance in a Zoom call, and they accept that many employees on those calls are wearing sweatpants with their camera-ready dress shirt. Moreover, many employers that want workers to return to the office have offered a variety of incentives, including a relaxed dress code.

What does this mean for your appearance standards? These changes should motivate you to think about how to strike a balance between employee comfort and the standards of professionalism for your particular company culture and industry. Every workplace is different, but in general, you should consider the following questions:

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Will you create a general policy simply requiring employees to look professional and well-groomed? Or do you want to be more specific?

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Will you require customer-facing employees to dress more professionally or formally than those who only interact with co-workers — whether in person or on camera?

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Will you create a separate policy for Zoom meetings that may be more relaxed than your in-person appearance policy?

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Do you want to be more specific about what attire is unacceptable in the office or on Zoom? For example, are jeans and a t-shirt allowed? What about baseball caps, sleeveless shirts, or hooded sweatshirts? Just be sure to review such policies for compliance with the workplace laws discussed in more detail below.

Hairstyle equity. In addition to pandemic-related changes over the last few years, calls for social justice led many jurisdictions to pass laws combating workplace racial bias based on hairstyle. In fact, 19 states and many localities have passed a version of the CROWN Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and job applicants based on natural or protective hairstyles. Natural hair has not been treated with chemicals that alter color or texture — such as bleach or straightener. Protective hairstyles — such as braids, locs, twists, or bantu knots — tuck the ends of the hair away to protect from sun, heat, and other damage.

Racial discrimination based on hairstyles is a part of everyday life for many Black adults, according to a study by the CROWN Coalition — which was founded by Dove, National Urban League, Color of Change, and Western Center on Law and Poverty. Moreover, a 2019 Dove CROWN study found that Black women were 1.5 times more likely to be sent home from work because of their hair and 30% more likely to be made aware of a formal workplace appearance policy than their co-workers.

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Banning Hair Discrimination Emerges as Racial Justice Issue

“The campaign to pass the CROWN Act in every state and Congress began in 2019, when Dove, which makes shampoo and other personal care products, and advocacy groups the National Urban League, Color of Change and the Western Center on Law and Poverty co-founded a coalition to press for the hair anti-discrimination law. The law clarifies that Black people should be allowed to wear their hair as it grows naturally and not be forced to use chemicals to relax or straighten it.”

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House Of Representatives passes The Crown Act

“As reports of racial discrimination at work and in schools are increasing, it is essential that lawmakers recognize where more protections against it can, and should be, strengthened,” said Jessica Bartholow of the Western Center on Law and Poverty. “We are so grateful to Congressman Richmond and the Congressional Black Caucus for their leadership on this issue and are eager to continue the work with other CROWN Act coalition members and allies until all workers and all pupils in our country are free from racial discrimination based on the texture or style of their hair. Passing this Act is an essential step to reducing school pushout of Black children and improving job opportunities for Black workers.”

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The Crown Act: What You Need to Know About the Fight Against Hair Discrimination

“The Crown Act stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural” and it’s a law that aims to put an end to race-based hair discrimination (aka when people lose out on work or school opportunities because of their hair texture or style). The co-founders behind the law include Dove, the National Urban League, Color of Change, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty.”

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The Crown Act Banning Discrimination Against Natural Hair Was Passed By The House

“Race-based hair discrimination garnered national attention last summer when the CROWN—Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair—Coalition first set out to ban intolerance based on style, type, and texture. Cofounded by Dove, the National Urban League, Color Of Change, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty, the movement works to create a “more equitable and inclusive beauty experience for Black women and girls.”

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Virginia Is the First Southern US State to Ban Hair Discrimination in the Workplace

“Western Center on Law and Poverty is also thrilled about Virginia’s decision. Ending hair discrimination is one step toward achieving racial justice in the US, said Courtney McKinney, the center’s communications director. Hair discrimination has caused economic, social, and psychological harm to Black people in the country for decades, she explained.

“People are rising up across the world, specifically calling for this country to look its white supremacist roots in the eye in order to eradicate it,” McKinney told Global Citizen.”

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National Crown Day Marks the 1-Year Anniversary of the Signing of the Crown Act

“The Crown Coalition is officially declaring July 3, 2020 a national holiday. On the one-year anniversary of the signing of the Crown Act, National Crown Day will serve as a day to stand in solidarity with Black people and the right to wear their natural hair without fear of discrimination. The coalition, founded by Dove, National Urban League, Color of Change, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty, announced the holiday in a press release on June 30.”

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