U.S. Court Rules Dreadlock Ban During Hiring Process Is Legal

[RavenSky]

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled against a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Catastrophe Management Solutions, effectively ruling that refusing to hire someone because of their dreadlocks is legal.

The court of appeals disagreed, ruling that CMS's "race-neutral grooming policy" was not discriminatory as hairstyles, while "culturally associated with race," are not "immutable physical characteristics." In essence, traits in a person's appearance that are tied to their culture but are otherwise changeable are not protected and can be used to deny job offers.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act has been routinely interpreted by the courts to only protect against "immutable characteristics" and not cultural practices. In Garcia v. Gloor, the courts ruled against the plaintiff, arguing that being fired for speaking Spanish at work despite their employers English-only policy did not violate Title VII.

Restrictions against dreadlocks have also been implemented in schools. This past July, Attica Scott, whose daughter is a student at Butler Traditional High School in Louisville, Kentucky, tweeted the dress code distributed by the school, which specifically prohibited "dreadlocks, cornrows, and twists."

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/u-s-court-rules-dreadlock-ban-during-hiring-process-legal-n652211

Thoughts?

 

[dismal]

How else are employers going to weed out the cultural appropriators?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Sounds like I'm going to have to shave my head then.

 

[Elixir]

How else are employers going to weed out the cultural appropriators?

Puns of that caliber should result in a 6-month ban from the site.

 

[ronburgundy]

Title VII explicitly lists "religion" which is by no stretch of the imagination an "immutable characteristic".

In fact, that's especially relevant since dreadlocks can be argued to be a religious practice just as much as anything can.

That said, I agree with the court that title vii should only apply to immutable characteristics, and thus not apply to hairstyles or to religion in general. Not only is religion a choice, but what beliefs and actions are "religious" vs. not is completely subjective and arbitrary, thus including religion means eliminating any ability to hire/fire for pretty much anything other than criminal convictions.

OTOH, that should only be relevant to private employment or other private institutions that do not receive any public assistance. Public schools and institutions should not be allowed codify acceptable appearance beyond things like disruptive odors or restrictions that only impact appearance on school grounds (like uniforms that can be taken off and not hairstyles that cannot be done and undone).

 

[LordKiran]

There are perfectly valid reasons for not wanting to hire someone with dreads, especially if they work with food in some capacity. Those things are FILTHY!

With that said I don't agree with schools mandating any real dress code outside of the obscene. While I understand that ultimately there has to be SOME rules so people aren't walking around naked, I generally think that kids should learn for themselves what other people are willing to tolerate and adjust their behaviors accordingly. Society is supposed to dictate propriety in this country. That was the idea from the very beginning.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

There are perfectly valid reasons for not wanting to hire someone with dreads, especially if they work with food in some capacity. Those things are FILTHY!

With that said I don't agree with schools mandating any real dress code outside of the obscene. While I understand that ultimately there has to be SOME rules so people aren't walking around naked, I generally think that kids should learn for themselves what other people are willing to tolerate and adjust their behaviors accordingly. Society is supposed to dictate propriety in this country. That was the idea from the very beginning.

I think that's the reason for schools, also--lice.

 

[LordKiran]

There are perfectly valid reasons for not wanting to hire someone with dreads, especially if they work with food in some capacity. Those things are FILTHY!

With that said I don't agree with schools mandating any real dress code outside of the obscene. While I understand that ultimately there has to be SOME rules so people aren't walking around naked, I generally think that kids should learn for themselves what other people are willing to tolerate and adjust their behaviors accordingly. Society is supposed to dictate propriety in this country. That was the idea from the very beginning.

I think that's the reason for schools, also--lice.

Oh yeah, Lice.

 

[RavenSky]

Title VII explicitly lists "religion" which is by no stretch of the imagination an "immutable characteristic".

In fact, that's especially relevant since dreadlocks can be argued to be a religious practice just as much as anything can.

That said, I agree with the court that title vii should only apply to immutable characteristics, and thus not apply to hairstyles or to religion in general. Not only is religion a choice, but what beliefs and actions are "religious" vs. not is completely subjective and arbitrary, thus including religion means eliminating any ability to hire/fire for pretty much anything other than criminal convictions.

OTOH, that should only be relevant to private employment or other private institutions that do not receive any public assistance. Public schools and institutions should not be allowed codify acceptable appearance beyond things like disruptive odors or restrictions that only impact appearance on school grounds (like uniforms that can be taken off and not hairstyles that cannot be done and undone).

^^^ agree 100% on all points. Very nicely presented

 

[Alcoholic Actuary]

Proxy for race?

aa

 

[whichphilosophy]

There are perfectly valid reasons for not wanting to hire someone with dreads, especially if they work with food in some capacity. Those things are FILTHY!

With that said I don't agree with schools mandating any real dress code outside of the obscene. While I understand that ultimately there has to be SOME rules so people aren't walking around naked, I generally think that kids should learn for themselves what other people are willing to tolerate and adjust their behaviors accordingly. Society is supposed to dictate propriety in this country. That was the idea from the very beginning.

I think that's the reason for schools, also--lice.

Then does that mean curly hair is banned?

 

[RavenSky]

I think that's the reason for schools, also--lice.

Then does that mean curly hair is banned?

And how about long thick hair on girls

 

[credoconsolans]

There are perfectly valid reasons for not wanting to hire someone with dreads, especially if they work with food in some capacity. Those things are FILTHY!

With that said I don't agree with schools mandating any real dress code outside of the obscene. While I understand that ultimately there has to be SOME rules so people aren't walking around naked, I generally think that kids should learn for themselves what other people are willing to tolerate and adjust their behaviors accordingly. Society is supposed to dictate propriety in this country. That was the idea from the very beginning.

I think that's the reason for schools, also--lice.

Agree. I watched one of those make-over reality TV shows once and a girl who had long dreads had her dreads cut off for her new look. The insides of the dreads were full of gross dead skin cells and dust and dirt. Ick.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I think that's the reason for schools, also--lice.

Then does that mean curly hair is banned?

You can de-lice curly hair. You can't de-lice dreadlocks.

 

[RavenSky]

You can't de-lice dreadlocks.

yes you can

 

[whichphilosophy]

Then does that mean curly hair is banned?

You can de-lice curly hair. You can't de-lice dreadlocks.

So all curly haired people have lice. All types of hair can if necessary be de-liced.

 

[LordKiran]

You can de-lice curly hair. You can't de-lice dreadlocks.

So all curly haired people have lice. All types of hair can if necessary be de-liced.

Due to the conditions under which dreadlocks form, lice are more likely. Look up how many species of the critters they found in bob marley's hair after he died.

Dreadlocks are incredibly unsanitary.

 

[whichphilosophy]

So all curly haired people have lice. All types of hair can if necessary be de-liced.

Due to the conditions under which dreadlocks form, lice are more likely. Look up how many species of the critters they found in bob marley's hair after he died.

Dreadlocks are incredibly unsanitary.

There seems to be conflicting information on this and there is no clear evidence to suggest he had lice in his hair found after his death.. He had treatment in a clinic in Bulgaria for an advanced stage of skin cancer. and it seems he actually lost his hair earlier due to the disease. (There is no clear mention of his head being shaven).
However the Guardian states:


https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/apr/24/bob-marley-funeral-richard-williams

Marley's head was once more covered with dreadlocks; but this was a wig which covered his bald skull, his own hair having been lost during his treatment for cancer in New York, Miami, Mexico, and finally the Bavarian clinic of Dr Josef Issels, following the diagnosis of a malignant melanoma four years earlier

 

[LordKiran]

Due to the conditions under which dreadlocks form, lice are more likely. Look up how many species of the critters they found in bob marley's hair after he died.

Dreadlocks are incredibly unsanitary.

There seems to be conflicting information on this and there is no clear evidence to suggest he had lice in his hair found after his death.. He had treatment in a clinic in Bulgaria for an advanced stage of skin cancer. and it seems he actually lost his hair earlier due to the disease. (There is no clear mention of his head being shaven).
However the Guardian states:


https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/apr/24/bob-marley-funeral-richard-williams

Marley's head was once more covered with dreadlocks; but this was a wig which covered his bald skull, his own hair having been lost during his treatment for cancer in New York, Miami, Mexico, and finally the Bavarian clinic of Dr Josef Issels, following the diagnosis of a malignant melanoma four years earlier

huh, the more you know...

 

[Tinker Grey]

WRT lice, apparently clean or dirty hair is irrelevant: https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/contagious-skin-diseases/head-lice