Op-ed by Summer Lane | Photo: Adobe Stock
While Americans are concerned about paying higher-than-ever healthcare insurance premiums next year and closely watching the price of groceries, Pennsylvania has inexplicably seized this moment to codify a bill about the etiquette surrounding how businesses interact with hair.
Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro signed the bill into law on Tuesday (HB 439), which apparently protects Pennsylvanians from the horrors of hair-based discrimination. The act is also known as the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair).
“For too long, many Pennsylvanians have faced discrimination simply for hairstyles that reflect their identity and culture — that ends today,” the governor said in a statement.
He added, “I’m grateful to Speaker McClinton, Representative Mayes, and the advocates who worked to get this done. We’re building a Commonwealth where everyone is welcomed, respected, and protected.”
Democrat Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton said this bill would protect people from being judged for their hair during job interviews. She declared, “They will not look at your hair and decide you can’t work here. They will not look at your hair and decide you don’t belong in this C-suite. They will not look at your hair and say, ‘you can’t be in the boardroom.’”
As wild as it may seem, this type of “hair discrimination” law is not the first of its kind. There are several standing CROWN laws on the books in the U.S., including in states like Texas, Michigan, and Minnesota.
The laws prohibit judgment based on hairstyles like braids, coils, afros, and extensions, but allow for businesses to enforce “valid health and safety policies that apply equally to all employees.”
In Pennsylvania, 916 complaints were filed in 2022 linked to “racial discrimination involving hair texture and protective hairstyles,” according to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.
As Pennsylvania – and the nation – faces a housing crisis, affordability problems, and the reality of a rapidly-expiring tax subsidy plan on healthcare insurance premiums, it’s good to know that Gov. Shapiro and Democrats in the Keystone State are focused on legislation that does little more than virtue signal.
