San Francisco, CA – A former stockroom worker for Abercrombie & Fitch Co. sued the clothing retailer in federal court Monday, saying she was illegally fired after refusing to remove her Muslim headscarf while on the job.
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Hani Khan said a manager at the company’s Hollister Co. store at the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo hired her while she was wearing her hijab. The manager said it was OK to wear it as long as it was in company colors, Khan said.
Four months later, the 20-year-old says a district manager and human resources manager asked if she could remove the hijab while working, and she was suspended and then fired for refusing to do so.
It’s the latest employment discrimination charge against the company’s so-called “look policy,” which critics say means images of mostly white, young, athletic-looking people. The company has said it does not tolerate discrimination.
Still, Abercrombie has been the target of numerous discrimination lawsuits, including a federal class action brought by black, Hispanic and Asian employees and job applicants that was settled for $40 million in 2004. The company admitted no wrongdoing, though it was forced to implement new programs and policies to increase diversity.
“Growing up in this country where the Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of religion, I felt let down,” Khan, now a college student studying political science, said at a news conference. “This case is about principles, the right to be able to express your religion freely and be able to work in this country.”
A message left Monday morning for Eric Cerny, a spokesman for New Albany, Ohio-based Abercrombie & Fitch, was not returned.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco comes after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled in September that Khan was fired illegally. Khan’s lawsuit was filed in conjunction with the EEOC’s lawsuit.
It is not the first time the company has been charged with discriminating against Muslim women over the wearing of a hijab.
In 2009, Samantha Elauf, who was 17 at the time, filed a federal lawsuit in Tulsa, Okla., alleging the company rejected her for a job because she was wearing a hijab.
The EEOC filed another lawsuit for the same reason, saying the company denied work to a hijab-wearing woman who applied for a stocking position in 2008 at an Abercrombie Kids store at the Great Mall in Milpitas, Calif.
Khan’s attorney said her client is looking to get Abercrombie to change its “look policy” to allow religious headscarves to be worn by employees, and for unspecified damages. The lawsuit alleges violations of federal and state civil rights and employment laws.
“Abercrombie prides itself on requiring what it calls a natural classic American style. But there’s nothing American about discriminating against someone because of their religion,” said Araceli Martinez-Olguin, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center.
“Such a look policy cannot be squared with our shared values. No worker should have to choose between their religion and their job.”
Her work had been acceptable.
She was in the back room, not out front.
It sounds like A&F didn’t make the required effort under established law to make reasonable accommodations for religious beliefs.
She’s probably got a case.
And every frum woman who wears a snood, a turban, a headscarf or a sheitl to work should watch this case carefully.
Being a chasidishe yingerman myself, I don’t understand what’s wrong for firing someone because of the way they dress.
Just like it’s understanble that a company may require their workers to wear a specific uniform, so should they be able to tell them what they should or shouldn’t wear.
Nobody is forced to work anywhere, and if they have an issue with the dress code, they should look someplace else for a job.
Saying all this, I understand that many employers (including orthodox jews) wouldn’t hire me because of the way I dress, including my beard and peyos. I don’t take it personally at all, and don’t think they have anything against me, rather it’s a business decision, and I respect that.
I think the hijab looks rather nice and distinguished looking. It’s not like she was wearing a mask in front of her face.
and ask herself why would anyone with any modicum of tzneeus want to work for a company that glorifies pritzus as does abercrombie
Enough of bending over backwards for “religious” rights that are NOT religious! The hijab has as much to do with Islam as the schietl does with Judaism, a sign of modesty maybe, but certainly not written in scripture.