The CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act (SB 188) is a California law which prohibits discrimination based on hair style and hair texture by extending protection under the FEHA and the California Education Code.
The CROWN Act, which was drafted and sponsored by State Senator Holly Mitchell, was passed unanimously in both chambers of the California Legislature by June 27, 2019, and was signed into law on July 3, 2019.
[1] CROWN Acts were subsequently adopted in New York, New Jersey, New York City, Washington, Maryland, Nevada,[2] Virginia, Colorado,[3] Texas,[4] Massachusetts[5] and Michigan[6] while Illinois adopted a similar law titled the Jett Hawkins Law.
[7] and expanded those protections by enacting the CROWN Act, effective January 1, 2023, which amended the Illinois Human Rights Act.
[8][9] A CROWN Act was also introduced in the South Carolina General Assembly, but did not pass the body.