The CROWN Act stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” Effectively, New Hampshire became the next state to pass this type of law once the “Creating a private cause of action for discrimination based on hairstyles relative to a person’s ethnicity” law was signed by the Governor.  

The new law states:

• No person shall be subjected to discrimination in employment because he or she wears a protective hairstyle. In this section, “protective hairstyles” means hairstyles or hair type, including braids, locs, tight coils or curls, corn rows, Bantu knots, Afros, twists, and head wraps. A person subjected to discrimination based on wearing a protective hairstyle shall have a private cause of action and shall be exempt from the jurisdiction of the human rights commission and the provisions of RSA 354-A. This section shall not apply to those employed by the department of corrections.