Local
Hair Cuttery reinstates stylist fired over HIV status
Apologizes, says firing based on ‘erroneous information’
Brandon Smith was fired from a Maryland Hair Cuttery after he tested positive for HIV. (Photo courtesy of the ACLU of Maryland)
The company that owns the Hair Cuttery chain of hair salons has agreed to reinstate assistant manager and hair stylist Brandon Smith whom it fired from its salon in Greenbelt, Md., in August after learning he had tested positive for HIV.
The reinstatement and an accompanying public apology comes two weeks after the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland filed a discrimination complaint on Smith’s behalf over the firing against the Vienna, Va., based Ratner Companies, the parent company of the Hair Cuttery and other name brand salons operating in Maryland, Virginia and D.C.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the ACLU of Maryland said it was pleased to announce that Brandon Smith and Ratner Companies had reached an agreement to resolve the complaint that “will both bring justice to Mr. Smith and strengthen the Companies’ commitment to fair treatment of its clients and employees.”
The ACLU complaint, which was filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleged that the Hair Cuttery shop that fired Smith had violated the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based solely on someone’s HIV status.
In a dismissal letter given to Smith at the time of the firing in August, the Ratner Companies said it based its action on a Maryland regulation of the cosmetology profession. According to the ACLU, the company claimed the regulation prohibits hair salons from employing someone working as a hair stylist who has an “infectious” or “contagious” disease such as HIV.
ACLU of Maryland Legal Director Deborah Jeon said at the time the legal group filed the complaint on Smith’s behalf that the company had misinterpreted the state regulation.
“You don’t get HIV by getting your hair cut, and we cannot allow unfounded fears to drive workplace discrimination against Marylanders living with HIV,” she said in an Aug. 9 statement. “The Hair Cuttery fired Brandon Smith notwithstanding the fact that he did not pose a significant risk to the health and safety of others, the applicable legal standard.”
In a statement released by the ACLU of Maryland on Wednesday, Dennis Ratner, founder and CEO of Ratner Companies, said, “Ratner Companies deeply regrets the dismissal of Mr. Smith from his employment with Hair Cuttery and sincerely apologizes for his termination, the company’s initial responsive statement based on erroneous information, and any harm done to Mr. Smith.”
Ratner’s statement adds, “Ratner Companies does not condone or tolerate illegal workplace discrimination of any kind, and it is not the company’s policy to terminate employees who are living with HIV or another disability.”
The ACLU of Maryland statement says Ratner Companies agreed to “make appropriate restitution to Mr. Smith” along with reinstatement. Jeon of the ACLU told the Blade the agreement reached calls for the company to provide Smith with back pay plus financial compensation for damages related to emotional distress caused by the firing.
“We are heartened by the quick action that Ratner Companies has taken to resolve the injustice suffered by Brandon Smith and to ensure that never again will an employee of Hair Cuttery or any other of the Companies’ salons be terminated because they are living with HIV,” the ACLU’s Jeon said in the group’s statement.
“It is our hope that this settlement sends a strong and clear message to other employers so that unfounded fears and misconceptions no longer drive workplace discrimination against those with disabilities,” she said.
Delaware
Delaware marriage equality bill advances out of committee
Measure will now go before full state Senate
The bill that would amend Delaware’s state constitution to codify same-sex marriage advanced out of the Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday and now goes to the Senate chamber for a vote. If passed, the vote would go on to the House.
Three members of the committee voted favorable and one voted on its merits, meaning the member recommends the chamber take action on the legislation but does not take a position on what action should be taken.
Senate Bill 100 was introduced in April by Democratic Sen. Russ Huxtable of the sixth district of Delaware and has 21 co-sponsors. It is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution. The act would “establish the right to marry as a fundamental right and that Delaware and its political subdivisions shall recognize marriages and issue marriage licenses to couples regardless of gender.”
Senate Substitute One was adopted in lieu of the original bill on May 16. SB 100 originally focused exclusively on marriage equality relating to gender and the bill was tweaked to include protection for all classes that fall under Delaware’s Equal Rights Amendment, including race, color, national origin, and sex.
The Wednesday committee meeting heard testimony on SS 1 for SB 100 from individuals and organizations, including John Reynolds, Deputy Policy and Advocacy Director of Delaware’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
“After hard fought recent victories, the rights of LGBTQ Americans are under attack in many places across our country,” Reynolds said during his testimony. “It is important that Delaware be proactive and serve as a firewall protecting individual civil liberties. SS 1 for SB 100 is an example of this important work cementing the protections for marriage equality in our state constitution.”
According to Sen. Huxtable, the ACLU helped provide feedback on some of the bill’s language. Reynolds said the ACLU thought it was important to testify because this is a moment when so much is changing.
“These attacks are not just on specific communities, they’re on this concept of equality and liberty,” Reynolds told the Washington Blade. “We need to build these firewalls to both prevent harm to folks on the frontline of these attacks but also ensure that we don’t set very problematic and damaging standards that can be used to roll back protections for large [swaths] of our population.”
SS 1 for SB 100 requires a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to pass. If passed, the next General Assembly after the next general election also has to pass it. Delaware is the only state in the country that can amend its state constitution without a vote of the people.
The Respect for Marriage Act was passed by the United States Congress in 2022 and signed into law by then-President Joe Biden. It codifies the right to same-sex and interracial marriage, requiring all states to recognize validly performed marriages from other states, regardless of whether they allow same-sex marriage within their own borders.
In Virginia, a bill codifying marriage equality was signed into law in 2024. California, Colorado and Hawaii have also passed amendments to codify same-sex marriage into their constitutions.
“We at the ACLU of Delaware are very excited that SS 1 for SB 100 passed out of committee yesterday,” Reynolds said. “It represents both Sen. Huxtable and the Delaware Legislature’s clear commitment to proactively protecting people’s rights within the LGBT community and outside to ensure that in this moment of uncertainty, we don’t sit idly by and wait for the worst to happen but take control of the things that we can to build the communities that we want.”
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
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