The Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission has approved amendments to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA), which provide new definitions of race, sex and religious creed, and effectively protect against hairstyle discrimination. The new rules are set to take effect within 60 days of their publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

The Details

The PHRA, and its amended rules, cover discrimination in employment, housing, commercial property, education, and public accommodations and apply to businesses that employ four or more individuals or independent contractors.

The amendments expand the following definitions of protected categories that were not previously expressly covered under the law:

Race

The law clarifies that ancestry, national origin or ethnic characteristics, interracial marriage or association, and Hispanic national origin or ancestry (including people of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Central or South American, or other Spanish origin or culture) are all covered under the definition of race.

The law also protects traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to:

• Hair texture;
• Protective hairstyles (such as braids, locks and twists); and
• Other national origin or ancestry (as specified by a complainant in a complaint).

Sex

Under the law, the term sex now encompasses all of the following:

• Pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, and breastfeeding;
• Sex assigned at birth;
• Gender identity or gender expression;
• Affectional or sexual orientation (this includes asexuality, bisexuality, heterosexuality and homosexuality); and
• Differences of sex development, variations of sex characteristics, or other intersex characteristics.

See the text of the law for further details on the definitions.

Religious creed

The amendments make clear that religious creed protects all aspects of religious observance and practice or belief, and includes the failure to provide a reasonable accommodation for a religious observance or practice.

Note: Employers may be exempt from providing a specific accommodation if they can demonstrate that it would cause an undue hardship, requiring more than minimal cost.

Next Steps

• Review dress codes, appearance policies and training to help ensure compliance with the amended rules.
  Note: If your policy simply indicates that employees must maintain kempt hair, consider clarifying that kempt means that the hair is clean and well combed or arranged, and that employees can comply with a variety of hairstyles that meet those criteria.

• Review nondiscrimination and antiharassment policies, procedures and training programs.