A Black woman in Louisiana was fired for wearing her natural hair to work. And now her former employer is paying the price. As a result of a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, American Screening, LLC will pay Imani Jackson a $50,000 settlement.
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Jackson was hired for a sales position with the drug and medical testing supply company back in 2018. She wore a long, straight wig for the interview and her first month of work. But when she decided to swap the wig for her natural, curly hair, Jackson says the company’s human resources manager had a talk with her about “looking more professional” and asked her to start wearing her wig again.
Language in her lawsuit describes Jackson’s hair as “type 4-A in the Andre Walker Hair Typing System.” The controversial system, which was developed in the 1990s by Oprah Winfrey’s former stylist, classifies hair based on texture from the straightest to the kinkiest. According to the system, type 4 hair is considered coily/kinky.
The complaint goes on to state that American Screening, LLC fired Jackson from her position when she refused to start wearing the wig again and replaced her with a white employee. Now, two years after the lawsuit was filed, the company has agreed to pay Jackson $50,000 in a settlement.
According to a statement by the EEOC, Jackson’s termination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which “prohibits firing employees or subjecting them to different terms and conditions of employment because of their race.”
Although the act was passed 60 years ago, people of color continue to fight for the right to show up as themselves in the workplace.
“Just as an employer may not ask an employee to change or conceal their skin color, an employer may not ask an employee to change their natural hair texture,” EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows said in an April 4 press release announcing the settlement. “Unfortunately, this form of discrimination continues to limit employment opportunities for Black workers, even today,” Burrows said.
