So I was just told yesterday that my hair is unacceptable for my work environment and had to be covered or cut. I have my hair covered half the time anyway willingly but I've begin to notice negative effects due to how often I have it covered. I'm going to post a couple quotes from the eeoc website for anyone wondering if they're legally allowed to wear their locks or not. Anyone feel free to add to the laws below.
"An employment policy or practice that applies to everyone, regardless of race or color, can be illegal if it has a negative impact on the employment of people of a particular race or color and is not job-related and necessary to the operation of the business. For example, a no-beard employment policy that applies to all workers without regard to race may still be unlawful if it is not job-related and has a negative impact on the employment of African-American men (who have a predisposition to a skin condition that causes severe shaving bumps)."
Religious Accommodation/Dress & Grooming Policies.
"Unless it would be an undue hardship on the employer's operation of its business, an employer must reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs or practices. This applies not only to schedule changes or leave for religious observances, but also to such things as dress or grooming practices that an employee has for religious reasons. These might include, for example, wearing particular head coverings or other religious dress (such as a Jewish yarmulke or a Muslim headscarf), or wearing certain hairstyles or facial hair (such as Rastafarian dreadlocks or Sikh uncut hair and beard)."
My question for anyone who may know the answer is this. I was shown a form of guidelines by my company which stated: "Hair will only be tolerated in a conservative style and color." So, does their company policy reign supreme over the civil rights act simply because they inforce it? Or is this infringing on the civil rights act and should be disregarded?
Any help on this matter is appreciated.
And btw my job position in which my hair is being called a "distraction" and "intolerable" is a cart attendant at good ol' Sams Club. aka Walmart.
updated by @lucid-madman: 02/14/15 06:25:52AM