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North Carolina city OKs ban on hairstyle discrimination

The Durham City Council on Tuesday voted to ban employers from discriminating based on hairstyles.

Credit: AP

FILE - Steam rises as a hair stylist works on a model prior to a show displaying the Tom Ford collection during Fashion Week on Feb. 6, 2019, in New York. People of color in the industry trace bias and discrimination in predominantly white salons to the sidelining of formal education focused on Black hair. Horror stories are not uncommon, from outright refusal of service to botched treatments and cuts by stylists who don't know what they're doing. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

DURHAM, N.C. — A city council in North Carolina has unanimously passed an ordinance that aims to protect workers from discrimination against hairstyles such as braids or dreadlocks.

WRAL-TV reports the Durham City Council on Tuesday voted to ban employers from discriminating based on hairstyles.

It’s an issue that Black people, especially women, say they’ve faced in their careers.

Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry pushed for the legal protections. She says discrimination based on hairstyles is a form of racial discrimination she's faced earlier in her career.

Durham is among one of the first cities in North Carolina to pass a measure regarding the issue.