Sen. Salvador files bill in North Carolina Senate to expand workplace discrimination protections

A new bill filed by State Sen. DeAndrea Salvador in the North Carolina Senate aims to strengthen protections against workplace discrimination based on race and related characteristics, according to the North Carolina State Senate.

The bill, filed as SB 897 on April 29 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘NC CROWN Act.’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill enacts the North Carolina CROWN Act to bar employers, including public and private entities and government agencies, from denying, refusing or terminating employment based on race, color, creed, religion, sex or national origin, and clarifies that race includes traits historically associated with race such as hair texture, hair type and protective hairstyles like bantu knots, braids, locks and twists. The bill adds the new protections to existing anti-retaliation law for employees who file complaints. It appropriates $100,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Labor for the 2026-27 fiscal year, effective July 1, 2026, to educate employers and employees on these rights, and otherwise takes effect when it becomes law.

Of the three sponsors of this bill, Natalie S. Murdock proposed the most bills (92) during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Salvador graduated from Wake Forest University in 2011 with a BS and again in 2013 from the University of North Carolina Charlott with a BS.

Salvador, a Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 2021 to represent the state’s 39th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Rob Bryan.