Every day was a bad hair day at a SoHo salon where the racism was as sharp as a pair of styling scissors, according to a new lawsuit.
Owners of the Devachan Salon on Broome Street were trying to appeal to a diverse clientele — but their blatant bigotry kept getting in the way, said a black former manager who filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against the company on Thursday.
When white workers weren’t referring to black customers as “ghetto” and “hood,” they gave the black clients poor service, making them wait unnecessarily at washing stations, and using gloves only on black women’s hair, according to court papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Former manager Charisse Samuel said the treatment was no better for black employees. In the lawsuit, she alleged the salon was a “racially hostile work environment” where black workers were hired only as “tokens” and had virtually no chance of rising through the ranks.
White co-workers complained about the music that Samuel played, and the way she dressed, said the lawsuit.
“Plaintiff calmly explained to the stylists that she was playing music that the salon’s clients enjoyed and that she did not report to the stylists,” the lawsuit said.
When Samuel complained to higher-ups about the bigoted backlash against black employees and customers, the bosses addressed her concerns the same way they would dandruff on a sweater — they brushed it aside.
“They failed to take any action to stop the rampant racial discrimination and instead engaged and participated in the discriminatory behavior at the salon,” the lawsuit said.
On one occasion, a black woman who wore her hair in a natural style was not satisfied with her cut, and raised concerns with her white stylist, who got defensive and told her she “could not make her look like Beyoncé,” according to the lawsuit.
The client was appalled and demanded to speak to a manager.
Samuel also said she faced pregnancy discrimination and was denied accommodations — like leaving early to visit a doctor — that were offered to pregnant white co-workers.
A Devachan representative was not immediately available for comment.
