Abercrombie's refusal to hire teen with hijab to be reviewed by SCOTUS
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to review a case in which Abercrombie & Fitch didn’t hire a Muslim teen because they said her hijab was inconsistent with the company’s dress code calling for “classic East Coast collegiate style.”
The job applicant, Samantha Elauf, wore a head scarf to her interview, but she didn’t explicitly inform the company that she wore it for religious reasons. At issue is whether an employer can be liable for discrimination when a would-be employee doesn’t give explicit notice of a need for religious accommodation. The Washington Post and the New York Times have stories, while SCOTUSblog links to the cert petition (PDF) and other documents.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued on Elauf’s behalf and lost in the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Abercrombie & Fitch has since changed its dress code to allow religious attire, according to previous coverage. The retailer argues in its brief that job applicants should not be allowed “to remain silent and to assume that the employer recognizes the religious motivations behind their fashion decisions.”
The case is Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores Inc.
Related article:
ABAJournal.com: “SCOTUS releases new list of grants for 2014 term, with no same-sex marriage cases”
See also:
ABA Journal: “Inmate’s right to wear a beard is among cases coming up this SCOTUS term”
