Carrie Hoffman Offers Insight for Employers Following Test of Texas’ CROWN Act

Foley & Lardner LLP partner Carrie Hoffman is quoted in the Law360 article, “Don’t Read Too Much Into Texas Schools’ Win In Hair Bias Suit, offering insight for employers following a recent Texas ruling that held a school district’s policy barring a Black student from wearing locs did not violate the state’s new Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act, which prohibits discrimination based on hairstyles tied to race.

Hoffman, who is chair of Foley’s Labor & Employment Practice, emphasized that regardless of the state law in play, an employer would have a more difficult time leveling the defense that won the school district this case.

Hoffman said businesses might face more hostility in court trying to enforce grooming policies based on the rationale that, for example, certain hairstyles are distracting.

“This is a much harder thing to argue in the employment context than it would be in the school context, where schools are given a lot more deference than employers,” Hoffman explained. “I don’t think it translates as much into the employment context.”

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