Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, Co. (NYSE:
ANF) violated federal law when it refused to hire a Muslim job
applicant because she wore a hijab (religious head scarf), the U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a workplace
discrimination lawsuit.
In March 2008, the 18-year-old female applied for a job stocking
merchandise at the “Abercrombie Kids” store at the Great Mall in
Milpitas, Calif. In accordance with her religious beliefs, she wore a
colorful headscarf to her interview. 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.”
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination
based on religion, and requires employers to accommodate the sincerely
held religious beliefs or practices of employees, unless doing so would
impose an undue hardship on the business. After first attempting to
reach a pre-litigation settlement, the EEOC filed this lawsuit
(CV10-3911-HRL in U.S. District Court for the District of Northern
District of California) to seek back pay, compensatory damages and
punitive damages, and injunctive relief to prevent future
discrimination.
EEOC San Francisco Regional Attorney William R. Tamayo said, “This
is not the first wake-up call for Abercrombie & Fitch. In 2005,
the company agreed to a six-year consent decree and paid $40 million to
a class of African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and women.
Why? They were sued by EEOC and private litigants for refusing to
recruit, hire, promote, and retain minorities because they did not fit
Abercrombie’s ‘All-American look.’ Now, this retailer that targets a
youth market is sending the message that you cannot aspire to their
‘All-American’ brand if you wear a head covering to comply with your
faith.”
EEOC San Francisco District Director Michael Baldonado added,
“Looking beyond race, color, national origin, gender and religion, as
required by federal law, should complement an effort to promote an
‘All-American’ image. Instead, Abercrombie & Fitch used its brand
to exclude and discriminate again, this time against a Muslim teen who
was honoring her faith while following her love of fashion.”
This is the second lawsuit filed by the EEOC against Abercrombie
& Fitch for failing to accommodate a Muslim teenager’s need to wear
a head scarf. The first, EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch dba
Abercrombie Kids (Case No. 4:09cv602 in U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of Oklahoma) was filed by the EEOC St. Louis District
Office in September 2009.