- within Government, Public Sector, Antitrust/Competition Law and Immigration topic(s)
- in United States
Just before Thanksgiving, Pennsylvania gave some employees another reason to give thanks. On November 25, 2025, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act into law. The law amends the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) to define "race" and "religious creed"—two classes which are legally protected against workplace discrimination—to include certain hairstyles and head coverings.
The PHRA prohibits workplace discrimination based on race and religious creed, among other protected classes. But until the CROWN Act, those terms were not defined. Beginning on January 24, 2026, unlawful discrimination will extend to: (1) "traits historically associated with the individual's race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles," and (2) head coverings and hairstyles historically associated with religious creeds. Protective hairstyles include, but are not limited to, locs, braids, twists, coils, Bantu knots, afros and extensions.
However, this protection is not absolute. The CROWN Act allows employers to adopt and enforce bona fide occupational health and safety rules and policies that prohibit such hairstyles and head coverings so long as: (1) the absence of the rule or policy impairs health and safety of employees or others; (2) the employer adopts the rule or policy for non-discriminatory reasons; (3) the rule or policy is specifically tailored to the applicable position and activity; and (4) the rule or policy applies equally to all persons in the applicable position and activity. For example, a rule requiring hardhats for anyone on a construction site would likely be acceptable, and employees may have to forego wearing religious headwear to wear hardhats.
"Real freedom means being respected for who you are — no matter what you look like, where you come from, who you love, or who you pray to," said Governor Shapiro. According to the Governor's office, a 2022 Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission report found that 916 complaints had been filed that year alone related to racial discrimination involving hair texture and protective hairstyles.
While the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission had already incorporated similar protections through guidance, the CROWN Act now ensures that these traits are protected by statute. Pennsylvania is the 28th state to prohibit discrimination based on hair texture and hairstyles historically associated with race.
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