Dress Law: The Case Of Abercrombie And Fitch
Abercrombie and Fitch is a clothing store that has a dress policy that prohibits its employees from wearing black clothing and articles of clothing that cover the head. In the case of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) v. Abercrombie and Fitch (A&F), 2008, the EEOC was sueing A&F on behalf of a young muslim girl by the name of Samantha Elauf. Elauf applied to work at Abercrombie and Fitch (A&F) and, during the interview, she was wearing a black hijab, which is an article of clothing worn by women of muslim faith that covers the head, and she was wearing it for religious reasons. During the interview, neither Elauf nor the interviewer initiated conversation regarding her religion. The interviewer claimed that Elauf had met
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A&F prohibit the color black from ever entering into their brand and believe that black ruins their brand’s name.
Because of the fact that Abercrombie is a clothing store and relies heavily on the appearance of their employees, or “models” as they call them, it makes sense for a store to dock points during an interview in which the interviewed person is wearing clothing that would lower the stores image. To abercrombie and Fitch, this means the color black, which as stated, Elauf’s hijab was black.
Because of this, it is likely that the loss in points was not accredited to Elauf’s head covering, but rather due to her sense of style and color choice. It is one thing for Abercrombie to dock points based on her religious head covering, but there was no way to assume that the head covering itself was the problem and not the color of it. Had her hijab been pink or blue, it’s possible that she would have received the job.
According to Nolo.com, nearly every state in the U.S., with the exception of Montana, has a law called at-will employment that states that an employer is able to terminate an employee for any reason whatsoever and needs not give a reason unless directly asked by the employee, at which point they are given a little over a week to
A&F prohibit the color black from ever entering into their brand and believe that black ruins their brand’s name.
Because of the fact that Abercrombie is a clothing store and relies heavily on the appearance of their employees, or “models” as they call them, it makes sense for a store to dock points during an interview in which the interviewed person is wearing clothing that would lower the stores image. To abercrombie and Fitch, this means the color black, which as stated, Elauf’s hijab was black.
Because of this, it is likely that the loss in points was not accredited to Elauf’s head covering, but rather due to her sense of style and color choice. It is one thing for Abercrombie to dock points based on her religious head covering, but there was no way to assume that the head covering itself was the problem and not the color of it. Had her hijab been pink or blue, it’s possible that she would have received the job.
According to Nolo.com, nearly every state in the U.S., with the exception of Montana, has a law called at-will employment that states that an employer is able to terminate an employee for any reason whatsoever and needs not give a reason unless directly asked by the employee, at which point they are given a little over a week to