Abercrombie found guilty of discrimination for not hiring woman who wears hijab

Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court found in favor of Samantha Elauf who filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against retail company Abercrombie & Fitch for not hiring her when she was 17 because she wore a hijab, a traditional headscarf worn by Muslim women.

In the ruling penned by Justice Antonin Scalia, it was noted that “an employer may not make an applicant’s religious practice, confirmed or otherwise, a factor in employment decisions.”

Elauf applied at the company’s Tulsa, Oklahoma branch as a kid’s store sales person in 2008. Documentation revealed that she received consistently high marks during her interviews, but the regional Abercrombie manager recommended that she be downgraded for not ascribing to “a classic East Coast collegiate style of clothing.”

There are a lot of ways in which an employer or a prospective employer can willfully or unintentionally violate the rights of his or her employees. If you feel like your rights as an employee have been violated, contact the Austin discrimination attorneys of The Melton Law Firm today by calling (512) 330-0017.