A Muslim woman was awarded $20,000 from a federal court after she was not hired to work at a local Abercrombie Kids store because she wears a hijab.
The woman knew about the store’s rules before applying for the job.
Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=14&articleid=20110721_14_A11_CUTLIN208536
The Muslim woman was awarded $20,000 even though she never worked at the store.
Pundit Press reported:
Claiming that Abercrombie Kids did not hire her because she wears a hijab, a jury in Tulsa, Arizona has awarded a Muslim woman $20,000 in damages. This comes despite the fact that the woman, Samantha Elauf, didn’t work a single day for Abercrombie and despite Abercrombie’s “Look Policy” that states clearly that it will not hire people who do not conform to their dress code.
During her job interview with Abercrombie, Ms. Elauf wore a hijab, a piece of clothing that Ms. Elauf believes is religiously mandated. At the time, she was informed that Abercrombie would not be able to hire her, not on religious grounds, but because she refused to remove her head scarf.
Abercrombie has, what they call, a “Look Policy.” In other words, because they are a fashion store, they want people to dress in their fashion and their style. Ms. Elauf stated that she would not take off her hijab even if she was hired and was at the job site. She was then informed that Abercrombie had decided not to hire her. So Ms. Elauf sued…
…Barbara Seely, the attorney representing Ms. Elauf, stated that Abercrombie was a menacing corporation that just wanted to produce “cookie-cutter kids.” When her client was awarded the $20,000, Ms. Seely stated it was “icing on the cake” since Abercrombie was already found liable.
“Samantha Elauf deserves every penny,” she said. “She is a courageous young woman who stuck with this case for three years in order to stand up for her rights and the rights of every Muslim woman to work wearing a headscarf.”
