In April 2021, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners passed a nondiscrimination ordinance protecting access to private employment and public accommodations. The nondiscrimination ordinance defines discrimination as any difference in treatment based on race, natural hair or hairstyles, ethnicity, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin or ancestry, marital or familial status, pregnancy, veteran status, religious belief or non-belief, age, or disability.