‘Hairdo discrimination’ outlawed in Big Apple

New York City doesn’t want people to have their hairstyles held against them, and it has unveiled novel guidelines against hairdo discrimination.

The new legal guidance says the city’s existing human rights law protects New Yorkers’ right to ‘‘maintain natural hair or hairstyles that are closely associated with their racial, ethnic or cultural identities’’.

‘‘Hair is a part of you. Race discrimination based on hair is illegal in NYC,’’ Human Rights Commission chairwoman Carmelyn P Malalis tweeted yesterday after releasing the guidelines. They are believed to be the first such measures in the US.

In effect, the guidance enables people to seek fines and other remedies if they have been harassed or punished in workplaces, schools or public spaces because of their hair texture or style. Hair nets, ties and the like can still be required for health and safety reasons.

The protections apply to everyone but were prompted largely by what the commission calls ‘‘racist stereotypes that black hairstyles are unprofessional’’.

The guidance specifically warns employers that they could face legal trouble for banning styles associated with black people, such as afros, dreadlocks or cornrows, or for instructing black workers to straighten their hair.

Across the US, some schools have drawn attention for banning dreadlocks, do-rags, afros and other ways of wearing hair.

In December, there was an outcry after a white referee told a black New Jersey high school wrestler to cut his dreadlocks right before a match or forfeit it. The teen had the haircut, but many criticised the demand, including the state’s governor and a US Olympic wrestler.

The US Supreme Court declined last year to hear a discrimination lawsuit involving a black Alabama woman who said she lost a job offer because she wouldn’t cut her dreadlocks.