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Discrimination claims are on the rise for public and private employers alike.  One new area of discrimination employers should be aware of arises from hairstyles.  The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act (“The CROWN Act”) was first passed in California in 2019 and is a law that aims to prohibit race-based hair discrimination. Under the CROWN Act, this discrimination can include the denial of employment and educational opportunities because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including braids, locs, twists, or bantu knots. Since 2019, there have been numerous efforts to pass the CROWN Act federally.  The CROWN Act was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022 but has not been enacted.  In the meantime, twenty-two other states including Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, and New York have passed the CROWN Act or another comparable law.   [...]

First Amendment Auditors have become increasingly popular in recent years, but what or who is a First Amendment Auditor? These individuals are usually activists or citizen journalists who target government facilities, employees, or events. Auditors will typically record the encounters and broadcast them on YouTube or other social media platforms and ask questions or demand answers of their target. The primary goal of auditors is to provoke a reaction or response, catch the interaction on camera, publicize the interaction on social media for views, and create circumstances to bring a lawsuit. Auditors, and members of the public generally, have the right to free speech, including the right to protest, record in public, and otherwise speak on matters of public concern. Likewise, the government also has an interest in running safe and efficient operations.  The government must balance these two rights [...]