In this case, a woman was denied a job at Abercrombie & Fitch due to a headscarf. As a Muslim woman, the defendant is supposed to wear a headscarf whenever she is in public. Since she was denied the job despite being well-qualified, she took the cause court citing Title IV Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. On the other hand, Abercrombie &Fitch has certain rights as an employer. The company has the right to set its own dress code and can deny a person employment if they do not conform by this policy. On that note, it is important to analyze the case from both perspectives.
The Freedoms of Companies in The United States
Abercrombie & Fitch is a company operating in the service industry. As such, it is paramount that the company's employees are well and appropriately dressed to maintain good standing with the clients ( Dunleavy, Engelsted, & Morris, 2017) . To ensure this, the company must set a dress policy. The employees of the company are mandated to abide by this dress code as it is clearly stated in the terms of employment.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Analysis
Whereas Abercrombie & Fitch has the right to set the dress code for its employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces the laws barring religious discrimination in the workplace. Since the beliefs of some religions mandate the followers to wear or not wear certain kinds of clothing, these requirements are safeguarded expression of religious freedom (Harrison, 2016). It means employers cannot restrict them, except under extraordinary circumstances. The hijab is a headscarf that Muslims wear to express their beliefs. As an item of religious expression, the hijab is protected by federal law. Therefore, by restricting a person a job due to a hijab, Abercrombie & Fitch is violating the employment discrimination laws.
References
Dunleavy, E. M., Engelsted, L., & Morris, A. (2017). A Primer on Equal Employment Opportunity Law and Contemporary Enforcement. In The Oxford Handbook of Workplace Discrimination . Oxford University Press.
Harrison, K. A. (2016). Hiding under the Veil of Dress Policy: Muslim Women, Hijab, and Employment Discrimination in the United States. Geo. J. Gender & L. , 17 , 831.
