Hair Style Discrimination Is Now Statutorily Prohibited in Puerto Rico
On July 24, 2024, the Governor of Puerto Rico, Hon. Pedro Pierluisi, signed into law Senate Bill 1282, the Law Against Discrimination Based on Hair Styles . This law adopts as public policy the express prohibition of discrimination in the offering of public services, employment, education, and housing, in the public and private sectors, based on individuals’ protective hairstyles or hair textures, which are regularly associated with a particular race and national origin identities. The phrase protective hairstyles is defined by the law as those hairstyles used to maintain curly hair into its natural style including, but not limited to, rolls or tight curls, locs, glued braids, twists, cornrows, Bantu knots and afros. This law also amends several statutes such as the Puerto Rico Public Service Relations Act , PR Act No. 45-1998; Law for the Administration and Transformation of the Human Resources in the Government of Puerto Rico , P...