Wendy Greene on Hair Discrimination

In this episode, D. Wendy Greene, Professor of Law at Drexel University Kline School of Law and Francis Lewis Scholar in Residence at Washington and Lee University School of Law, discusses her article "Splitting Hairs: The 11th Circuit's Take on Workplace Bans Against Black Women's Natural Hair in EEOC v. Catastrophe Management Solutions," which was published in the University of Miami Law Review. Greene begin by explaining how federal discrimination law works and what plaintiffs must show in order to prove a discrimination claim. She describes how courts have applied those standards to claims involving hairstyles, and why they are mistaken. Specifically, she observes that courts improperly apply the "immutability doctrine," which excludes hairstyles from protection because they can be changed, even if employees shouldn't have to change them, which places an especially heavy burden on African-American women. And she reflects on how her advocacy work has helped change the law in California and New York to protect hairstyle choices. Greene is on Twitter at @ProfessorDWendy.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.