February 2026: PA's New CROWN Act Is Now in Effect

 

If you're a company with 4 or more PA employees, the new CROWN Act applies to you as of January 24, 2026.

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The new law prohibits PA employers from discriminating against job applicants and employees based on their hair texture, protective hairstyles, and head coverings associated with race and religion. This is now part of the PHRA, PA's anti-discrimination statute.

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This isn't just a cosmetic change to the law. In 2022, the government office responsible for administering the PHRA reported almost 1,000 complaints alleging racial discrimination based on hair texture, protective hairstyles, and head coverings. So, this new law has real-world implications.

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The CROWN Act does allow employers to adopt and enforce non-discriminatory health and safety rules relating to hairstyles, hair textures, or head coverings. But employers will have to jump through several hoops to ensure those rules comply with the new law.

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What should a small business owner do now that the CROWN Act is on the books? Here are a few steps to take:

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• Review and update your employee handbook and other employment policies. It's a good idea to review and update handbooks periodically anyway, because employment laws change frequently. And, if you don't have a handbook, get one.

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• Ensure any workplace health and safety rules comply with the new law, including that they are non-discriminatory and specifically tailored to the applicable position and activity.

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• Identify and offer reasonable accommodations to employees who raise issues about these topics. Remember, the law requires employers to try to accommodate employees' reasonable requests for deviations from company policy because of their protected characteristics.

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