And why shouldn’t the ever so hip hijab be a part of ultra-image conscious Abercrombie’s latest fashion wear? “Oklahoma Muslim denied job because of Islamic scarf,” from Islamophobia Watch, August 1:
The Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK) announced today that it has filed an EEOC complaint on behalf of a Muslim woman who was allegedly denied employment at an Abercrombie Kids store in that state because of the applicant’s religiously-mandated headscarf, or hijab.
The woman told CAIR-OK that a district manager claimed he could not hire her because her Islamic headscarf “does not fit the Abercrombie image.”
“Employers have a clear legal duty to accommodate the religious practices of their workers,” said CAIR-OK Executive Director Razi Hashmi. “To deny someone employment because of apparent religious bias goes against long-standing American traditions of tolerance and inclusion.”
Sounds more like a fashion “bias” than a “religious” one.
Hashmi noted that Abercrombie & Fitch’s corporate “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” states: “The Company will adhere to its employment policies of non-discrimination as it relates to race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation or handicap and will ensure compliance with all legal and other regulations governing employment.”
In a letter to Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jefferies, CAIR-OK asked the company to 1) offer the Muslim applicant a formal apology, 2) clarify the company’s policy on religious accommodation, and 3) institute workplace sensitivity and diversity training.