The United States Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision, ruled in favor of a Muslim woman who was denied a job at Abercrombie & Fitch after she interviewed for a sales position because she wore hijab, a black headscarf worn for religious reasons.<\/p>\n
The applicant, Samantha Elauf, never told her interviewer that she was Muslim. However, Elauf did not get the job and was told by a friend it was because of her headscarf. The headscarf violated Abercrombie & Fitch\u2019s dress code, which requires sales staff, called \u201cmodels\u201d, to look \u201cEast Coast collegiate\u201d or preppy. Abercrombie & Fitch has recently changed this policy, however, due to other lawsuits.<\/p>\n
Civil Rights law prohibits a retailer from asserting religion as a reason for not hiring an applicant. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (\u201cEEOC\u201d) filed the lawsuit on behalf of Elauf. \u00a0Justice Scalia, writing for the Supreme Court, stated that Abercrombie & Fitch \u201cat least suspected\u201d that the black headscarf Elauf wore was for religious purposes. The Supreme Court determined that was enough to hold the company liable. Elauf was ultimately awarded $20,000.<\/p>\n