UES Salon Pays $70K Fine For Anti-Afro 'Dress Code'

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side hair salon accused of forbidding black workers to sport afros agreed to pay a $70,000 fine and undergo training in a settlement with the city's Human Rights Commission.

This is the first settlement of its kind since the city passed regulations prohibiting hair-based discrimination in February.

Tim Lehman and Sharon Dorram — owners of Sharon Dorram Color at Sally Hershberger, on East 71st Street — agreed to complete 35 hours of community service with an organization that combats hair discrimination and go through trainings on racial justice as part of its settlement with the city.

The salon will also start a "multicultural internship program" that will train stylists from underrepresented groups and partner with a styling school that specializes in the care and styling of natural hairstyles "closely associated with Black people," city officials said.

"This resolution is another step towards ensuring that racist notions of professional appearance standards are not applied in New York City," said Carmelyn Malalis, chair of the Commission on Human Rights. "The restorative justice components incorporated into the resolution demonstrate the Commission’s commitment to repairing and re-investing in the communities impacted by discriminatory practices."

The Commission on Human Rights launched an investigation into Sharon Dorram Color at Sally Hershberger after three employees accused the salon of enforcing a "dress code" that advised employees to avoid wearing certain hairstyles such as Afros and box braids.

Complaints made by employees of the business between 2016 and 2018 revealed that workers were told to steer clients away from stylists who disagreed with the policy. One stylist claimed that the salon fired her because of the policy.

Salon owners initially denied the accusations in an interview with the New York Times. Hershberger's clients include celebrities such as Meg Ryan and the stylist has done the hair of prominent political figures such as Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, the Times reported earlier this year. Dorram also counts celebrities among her clientele.