Young businessman tossing his locs and showing the rock 'n' roll sign (via Getty Images)
A Black former employee at an events company in San Diego says he was told that if he wanted his job back after being furloughed during the pandemic, he’d have to cut his dreadlocks. When he refused, his job offer was allegedly revoked.Now, the 31-year-old is suing the company, Encore Global, for discrimination. His lawsuit will be the first under a new law in California, the CROWN Act, which forbids companies from restricting Black hairstyles in the workplace.
Jeffrey Thornton worked for the Delaware-based events company Encore Global out of Florida for four years before being furloughed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. In October 2021, when the company reached back out to Thornton in hopes of rehiring him for a position in San Diego, he agreed to rejoin.
But his return didn’t go as planned, according to a lawsuit filed by Thornton in California Superior Court last month and obtained by CBS News. When Thornton attended an interview for the job on Nov. 1, a hiring manager allegedly told him that he was totally qualified for the position—but he would simply have to adhere to certain company policies regarding dress and appearance. While Thornton didn’t object to restrictions on his jewelry, tattoos, and facial hair, he was alarmed by what the manager allegedly told him about his locs, which he’d been growing for two years and were just over five and a half inches.
“Encore was also requiring that he cut his hair so that it was off the ears, eyes, and shoulders, and would not allow him to simply tie back his hair in order to do so,” the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, the company’s appearance guidelines say that employees must have hair that is “clean, neat, and styled” with “color that has a natural appearance.” How Thornton’s hair didn’t meet those standards after working with the company for four years wasn’t explained.
“In order to take the job, Mr. Thornton would have to materially alter his hairstyle, and thus hisappearance, cultural identity, and racial heritage,” the lawsuit says. “As such, Mr. Thornton was denied the position for which he was qualified.”
The lawsuit accuses the company of violating California’s CROWN Act, which passed in January 2020 as a way to prevent employers from discriminating against Black employees, both current and prospective, based on the appearance, texture, and style of their hair.
The law was a direct response to numerous instances of discrimination around the nation where employers and other institutions, such as schools, declared traditionally Black hairstyles such as braids, twists, locs, and Afros inappropriate. These racist standards are exclusively based on enforcing Eurocentric hairstyles in the workplace, deeming them as professional, and Black alternatives as improper.
Earlier this year, a Black woman in Louisiana filed a lawsuit claiming her employee fired her when she decided to wear her natural hair to work instead of a wig. In May, a Black high school softball player was forced to cut her hair during a game after a coach on the opposing team insisted she do so to play. In 2019, a Black teen in Texas was suspended and forced to sit out his high school graduation after he refused to cut his locs for the occasion.
In addition to being compensated for general and punitive damages as well as legal fees, Thornton is asking Encore Global to eliminate all rules that violate the CROWN Act.
Encore Global did not immediately respond to VICE News’ request for comment about the lawsuit. The company, however, told CBS News that the lawsuit is the result of a misunderstanding and that it’s offering Thornton the job after all. The company also told the outlet that it would be revising the policies regarding grooming standards.
Thornton’s attorney Adam Kent also did not respond to requests for comment.
California, however, isn’t the only state to adopt a CROWN Act. In 2019, a coalition of pro-Black civil groups including the National Urban League, Color Of Change, and the Center for Western Law and Poverty banned together to create the CROWN Coalition. The groups’ namesake comes from its ultimate goal; “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” Since its foundation two years ago, the groups have successfully lobbied for the passage of legislation abolishing hair discrimination in the workplace in states like New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Colorado, and others.
The CROWN Coalition is also making efforts to get a national version of the CROWN Act passed in Congress. In September, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a national version of the bill first proposed in 2019. The bill just needs a majority vote in the Senate before making its way to the desk of the White House.Want the best of VICE News straight to your inbox? Sign up here.
Jeffrey Thornton worked for the Delaware-based events company Encore Global out of Florida for four years before being furloughed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. In October 2021, when the company reached back out to Thornton in hopes of rehiring him for a position in San Diego, he agreed to rejoin.
But his return didn’t go as planned, according to a lawsuit filed by Thornton in California Superior Court last month and obtained by CBS News. When Thornton attended an interview for the job on Nov. 1, a hiring manager allegedly told him that he was totally qualified for the position—but he would simply have to adhere to certain company policies regarding dress and appearance. While Thornton didn’t object to restrictions on his jewelry, tattoos, and facial hair, he was alarmed by what the manager allegedly told him about his locs, which he’d been growing for two years and were just over five and a half inches.
“Encore was also requiring that he cut his hair so that it was off the ears, eyes, and shoulders, and would not allow him to simply tie back his hair in order to do so,” the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, the company’s appearance guidelines say that employees must have hair that is “clean, neat, and styled” with “color that has a natural appearance.” How Thornton’s hair didn’t meet those standards after working with the company for four years wasn’t explained.
“In order to take the job, Mr. Thornton would have to materially alter his hairstyle, and thus hisappearance, cultural identity, and racial heritage,” the lawsuit says. “As such, Mr. Thornton was denied the position for which he was qualified.”
The lawsuit accuses the company of violating California’s CROWN Act, which passed in January 2020 as a way to prevent employers from discriminating against Black employees, both current and prospective, based on the appearance, texture, and style of their hair.
The law was a direct response to numerous instances of discrimination around the nation where employers and other institutions, such as schools, declared traditionally Black hairstyles such as braids, twists, locs, and Afros inappropriate. These racist standards are exclusively based on enforcing Eurocentric hairstyles in the workplace, deeming them as professional, and Black alternatives as improper.
Earlier this year, a Black woman in Louisiana filed a lawsuit claiming her employee fired her when she decided to wear her natural hair to work instead of a wig. In May, a Black high school softball player was forced to cut her hair during a game after a coach on the opposing team insisted she do so to play. In 2019, a Black teen in Texas was suspended and forced to sit out his high school graduation after he refused to cut his locs for the occasion.
In addition to being compensated for general and punitive damages as well as legal fees, Thornton is asking Encore Global to eliminate all rules that violate the CROWN Act.
Encore Global did not immediately respond to VICE News’ request for comment about the lawsuit. The company, however, told CBS News that the lawsuit is the result of a misunderstanding and that it’s offering Thornton the job after all. The company also told the outlet that it would be revising the policies regarding grooming standards.
Thornton’s attorney Adam Kent also did not respond to requests for comment.
California, however, isn’t the only state to adopt a CROWN Act. In 2019, a coalition of pro-Black civil groups including the National Urban League, Color Of Change, and the Center for Western Law and Poverty banned together to create the CROWN Coalition. The groups’ namesake comes from its ultimate goal; “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” Since its foundation two years ago, the groups have successfully lobbied for the passage of legislation abolishing hair discrimination in the workplace in states like New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Colorado, and others.
The CROWN Coalition is also making efforts to get a national version of the CROWN Act passed in Congress. In September, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a national version of the bill first proposed in 2019. The bill just needs a majority vote in the Senate before making its way to the desk of the White House.Want the best of VICE News straight to your inbox? Sign up here.