The New York City Commission on Human Rights plans to release new guidelines that consider targeting people based on their hair or hairstyle to be racial discrimination, according a copy of the guidelines obtained by The New York Times.
Four things to know:
1. The rules will apply to anyone in New York City and aim to remedy the disparate treatment of black people in the city who seek to maintain their natural hair, but may have faced discrimination for doing so in the past.
2. On behalf of individuals who have been harassed, threatened, punished, demoted or fired because of the texture or style of their hair, the city can levy penalties of up to $250,000 on defendants that violate the new guidelines. The commission will also be able to force internal policy changes and rehirings at such insitutitions, according to the report.
3. The publication states the rules were created in part because of several complaints, including from at least one employee at a medical facility in New York City.
4. The guidelines are reportedly the first of their kind in the country. There is no legal precedent in federal court for the protection of hair, according to the report.
To access the full report, click here.