Company accused of racial discrimination over hairstyle settles with EEOC

A Las Vegas security company that allegedly denied a Black woman the opportunity to apply for an available position because of her hairstyle avoided a potentially litigious court case by settling the racial discrimination charge with a federal agency.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a release Wednesday that Las Vegas-based Official Security settled a charge alleging that the company violated federal law when it did not allow the Black applicant to apply for a job “due to her ethnic hairstyle.”

The federal agency, which oversees federal workplace laws, said it conducted an investigation into the allegations and “found reasonable cause to believe that Official Security violated Title VII” of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Tamara West, director of the EEOC’s Las Vegas office, said in a release Wednesday that, “While a company may set grooming standards, those standards should not chill or exclude individuals from the workplace based on race or any other protected basis.”

Darryl Cronfeld, owner of Official Security, said in a phone interview that he was unaware the EEOC had put out a press release until the Review-Journal contacted him for a comment.

“The claimant actually did not tell the EEOC exactly what happened that specific day. Official Security had a witness to what happened or what was said and why she was denied and with the EEOC, they just failed to believe the witness and myself,” Cronfeld told the Review-Journal.

He added that in the best interests of all concerned, “I did make a business settlement with the EEOC as stated in your article.”

By resolving the charge, the EEOC said, Official Security does not admit liability and has agreed into a two-year conciliation agreement with the agency. That means that Official Security will agree to provide training on Title VII with a specific emphasis on race discrimination and unfair hiring practices to its employees, according to the EEOC.

The company also will update its security officer grooming and uniform standards policy. Official Security will also agree to provide a financial donation to a local community group. The federal agency said it will continue to monitor the company’s compliance with the agreement.

“Official Security has agreed to take steps to create a more inclusive work environment and we encourage employers to review their policies and procedures to make sure they are compliant with federal laws,” added West.

Contact Jonathan Ng at jng@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ByJonathanNg on Twitter.