(Last Updated On: March 4, 2025)
Discrimination on the basis of race or color, including discrimination on the basis of natural or protective hairstyles, is unlawful in Massachusetts under both state and federal law. It is critical for both employees and employers to be able to understand and recognize unlawful discrimination on the basis of race so that it can be addressed and prevented in the future.
Laws Prohibiting Discrimination on the Basis of Race in Massachusetts
In order to be able to recognize discrimination on the basis of race and to take action in response, it is critical to have a clear understanding of the laws that prohibit this type of employment discrimination and what, precisely, they prohibit. Employees will need to understand the laws that protect them in order to file a claim, and employers must know the laws so that they can ensure they are in compliance.
Under Massachusetts state law, MGL 151B, also known as the anti-discrimination statutes, protects job applicants and employees in Boston, Natick, and throughout the state from discrimination on various bases, including on the basis of race (including natural and protective hairstyles) and color. The Massachusetts anti-discrimination statutes apply to employers with six or more employees.
Under MGL 151B, job applicants, and employees cannot be discriminated against or harassed on the basis of their actual or perceived race, and those protections extend to discrimination on the basis of natural and protective hairstyles under the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act (CROWN Act). The CROWN Act clarifies that a protective hairstyle includes “braids, locks, twists, Bantu knots, hair coverings, and other formations.”
Massachusetts job applicants and employees also have protections against discrimination on the basis of race or color under federal law. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides these protections against discrimination in hiring and employment, including protections against harassment. This federal law makes it unlawful to treat someone unfavorably because of their actual or perceived race, their personal characteristics associated with a particular race, their skin color complexion, and their association (such as being married to or in a relationship) with a person of a particular race or color. Title VII applies only to employers with 15 or more employees, however, which often means that employees who face discrimination will file a claim under state law.
Identifying Unlawful Forms of Discrimination on the Basis of Race in Boston and Natick
The language in state and federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race covers a wide range of actions against job applicants and employees by employers or supervisors, as well as certain actions or behaviors by co-workers or others in the workplace who are not in a supervisory role. The following are examples of unlawful discrimination on the basis of race that may be actionable under state or federal law:
- Advertising for job applicants of a particular race, or suggesting that only applicants of a particular race should apply for a job;
- Asking questions of a job applicant about their race or color during a job interview;
- Making a hiring decision on the basis of a job applicant’s actual or perceived race, or on the basis of the applicant being married to a person of a particular race;
- Promoting only applicants of a certain race;
- Offering higher wages to employees of a particular race, or hiring applicants of a particular race at lower wages than other employees;
- Making job assignments on the basis of race, such as having employees of a particular race in public-facing roles and other employees in less public-facing roles;
- Laying off employees of a particular race when layoffs are necessary, or even when they are not;
- Having a dress code that prohibits braids or other protective hairstyles;
- Terminating an employee after learning they are married to or in a relationship with a person of a particular race;
- Treating unfavorably or terminating an employee after they file a race discrimination claim under Massachusetts law or under Title VII;
- Treating an employee unfavorably after they participate in a race discrimination investigation in the workplace;
- Offering benefits or training opportunities only to employees of a particular race;
- Co-worker making constant jokes about people of a particular race, or stereotypes associated with a particular race, to the point that the co-worker creates a hostile work environment; and/or
- Clients or customers routinely make crude comments about employees of a particular race, creating a hostile work environment.
The above are all examples of unlawful race discrimination, and these are just some examples of many ways in which unlawful discrimination on the basis of race or color can occur in employment contexts.
Contact a Massachusetts Employment Law Attorney Serving Clients in Boston and Natick
Discrimination on the basis of race is unlawful in Massachusetts, and it is critical for employees to understand their rights and for employers to understand their responsibilities. If you have any questions about filing an employment discrimination claim arising out of harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, a Massachusetts employment lawyer can help. Likewise, if your business wants to ensure it has policies in place to prevent and address racial discrimination, it is important to seek legal advice. Contact Rodman Employment Law today to learn more about how our firm can assist you.
