This is pretty common and goes beyond just the color of your hair, the majority of states still don't have discrimination protections specifically for protective hairstyles like braids, locs, cornrows, afros, etc. And, even in states that do, they obviously just front it as something else; my friend works in NY state (which banned protective hairstyle discrimination in 2019) and has a coworker who was sent home after coming to work with locs with red highlights. Employer claimed they only had issue with the red highlights, but I'm sure they obviously saw the locs on their own as "unprofessional"

A workplace study this year found one-fifth of Black women aged 25-34 have been sent home from work because of their hair. Two-thirds of BW also reported changing their hair for an interview