Abercrombie & Fitch Headscraf Lawsuit: Hijab Not Abercrombie Look

by NowPublic Staff | September 2, 2010 at 02:24 pm

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Abercrombie & Fitch Hijab Lawsuit: Muslim Team Denied Job Because Of Headscraf, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Sues For Religious Discrimination

The EEOC is suing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch for religious discrimination because it reportedly refused a job to a Muslim teen because she was wearing a headscarf which violated the Abercrombie "Look Policy."

In 2008, the Bay Area Muslim teen went for an job interview at Abercrombie Kids in Milpitas, CA. The job was for stocking shelves and it was the first job interview for the Muslim teenager.

According to the EEOC, the Abercrombie & Fitch manager asked if she was Muslim and required to wear a head scarf, then marked “not Abercrombie look” on the young woman’s interview form. The EEOC’s suit alleges that Abercrombie & Fitch refused to accommodate the applicant’s religious beliefs by granting an exception to its “Look Policy,” an internal dress code that includes a prohibition against head coverings.

“This was the first job I ever applied for, and I was excited about the idea of working for Abercrombie & Fitch,” said the job applicant. “I was into fashion, and wore skinny jeans and imported scarves that matched my outfits. The interview crushed me because I never imagined anyone in the Bay Area would reject me because of my head scarf. To this day, I can't walk into Abercrombie & Fitch stores. They didn't just miss out on a hard worker, they lost a customer.”

This is not the first time Abercrombie & Fitch has been sued by the EEOC. In September 2009, the EEOC sued an Abercrombie & Fitch store based in Tulsa, Oklahoma for religious discrimination for a job applicant who wore a headscarf or hijab.