ENFIELD, Conn. — The Connecticut NAACP is demanding answers and change after an 18-year-old ShopRite employee was told to go home because she had red coloring in her braids and was not allowed to return to work until it was gone.
More than a dozen people gathered outside the doors of the store to show support.
“Dr. King talked about judging individuals by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin. We shouldn't be judging people by the color of their hair,” said CT NAACP President, Scot X. Esdaile.
The employee is the daughter of former NFL player Andrew Pinnock.
Pinnock’s daughter worked at the store for over two months as a hopper filling online orders. A picture posted on his Facebook page shows how his daughter’s hair looked the day she was sent home.
Pinnock got emotional recalling the moment his daughter told him what happened.
“She gets in the car and immediately tries to make it what she feels is right because she doesn't know. She starts twinkling to hear like, maybe I can just pull my hair out like this,” said Pinnock.
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The former NFL player said that after talking with his daughter, he went to the store to get answers.
“When I went inside, the first thing I did was scan the place. I see a couple of people that have multicolor here, I see people walking around with piercings. So, I go to customer service to ask where’s the manager,” said Pinnock.
Pinnock said that after talking with the HR manager, he was told she could return to work and was handed a ShopRite-branded durag and was told it was only a temporary solution.
“You want her to put push all her hair into this and walk around like this all day…she said yes, you know and if some is showing that's okay, but she has about two weeks to get it all out,” said Pinnock.
In 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont signed the CROWN Act into law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of hairstyles associated with race. State Representative Robyn Porter said this store broke that law.
“What are we saying to her? That she can't be who she is…that her hairstyle prevents her from doing the job that she was hired to do,” Porter continued, “This is a protective hairstyle.”
Community leaders said this should not prevent someone from working.
“When I'm employed the only thing I have to do is come to work and do my job, put a smile on my face and give good customer service. It has nothing to do with hair or whether it's locked, or straight, or curly, or even fake,” said former Bloomfield Mayor, Suzette Brown.
The CT NAACP is calling for a verbal and written apology, a change in policy and accountability.
The group is planning a demonstration for sometime next week at the store though details have yet to be announced.
FOX61 reached out to ShopRite for comment, and received a statement Thursday from Harry Garafalo, the managing partner of ShopRite of Enfield.
"ShopRite of Enfield’s policies and practices related to dress strive to be inclusive," Garafalo's statement said. "These hairstyles do not violate the ShopRite of Enfield’s dress code policy; and we do not believe that the law was violated."
The statement continued, "ShopRite of Enfield is committed to policies and practices that provide a full and fair opportunity for employment, and career advancement."
Jake Garcia is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jgarcia@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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