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On November 25, 2025, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed HB 439, also known as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act, into law. Pennsylvania is now the 28th state to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees or applicants based on hair texture and protective hairstyles, including religious creed-related hairstyle and head covering practices.
Specifically, the CROWN Act amends the definition of race in the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) to include traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles such as locs, braids, twists, coils, Bantu knots, afros, and extensions. The PHRA's definition of "religious creedz" now includes head coverings and hairstyles historically associated with religious practice.
The Act is not without limitation. There are limited exceptions when legitimate workplace interests are at stake. In order to enforce hairstyle or head-covering restrictions, employers must establish either a valid workplace health and safety reason or a bona fide occupational qualification. To establish that an exception applies, employers must meet all four of the following elements:
- Without the adoption of the rule or policy, it is reasonably certain that the health or safety of an employee or other materially connected person will be impaired;
- The rule or policy is adopted for nondiscriminatory reasons;
- The rule or policy is applied equally to all employees and does not have a disproportionate adverse impact on a group of individuals based on traits associated with race; and
- The rule or policy is specifically tailored to the applicable position and activity.
Employees who believe they have experienced discrimination covered by the Act can file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission ("PHRC"). After exhausting their administrative remedies with the PHRC, employees may then file lawsuits in court asserting violations under the PHRA. Available remedies include back pay, reinstatement, policy changes and other corrective measures. Retaliation for filing a complaint or assisting in an investigation is prohibited.
Employers should familiarize themselves with these amendments to ensure that their policies and practices do not run afoul of the newly imposed restrictions before the law goes into effect on January 24, 2026. The Pennsylvania-based employment lawyers at Lewis Brisbois are available to provide counseling services as to this subject and other employment law issues.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
