Black worker fired after she stopped wearing wig, wore natural hair: Feds

Photo: Getty Images A Black worker was allegedly fired after she stopped wearing a wig to work and wore her naturally curly hair instead, per the Charlotte Observer. According to a federal lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Imani Jackson was subjected to racial discrimination by her former employer, American Screening LLC, a drug and medical testing company in Louisiana. Jackson wore a straight-haired wig while interviewing for the company’s sales associate position and her first month of work. However, the wig took 45 minutes to put on and was uncomfortable, so she switched to wearing her natural hair, typically in a “neat bun,” according to the lawsuit. The company’s owner allegedly told Jackson “her hair was unacceptable and instructed her to wear straight hair — that is, the wig — instead.” Still, Jackson continued to wear her naturally curly hair to work. According to the lawsuit, Jackson’s employer complained that she previously “‘came in with beautiful hair’ but now ‘looks like she rolls out of bed.'” The woman was fired in October 2018 just two months after she was hired and replaced by a White employee, the suit states. The company’s owner allegedly cited “I no...