The negative press just does not end for (former) tween store sensation Abercrombie & Fitch. When a seventeen-year-old girl in Tulsa was denied a job at an Abercrombie Kids store for wearing a hijab (hats are not allowed to be worn as part of the company’s style policy) in 2008, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a suit against the company soon after. Though initially winning the lawsuit, the 2009 case was later appealed.
Now the EEOC has brought its case to the attention of the Supreme Court, who have agreed to oversee the matter.
The EEOC is arguing that “if ‘actual knowledge’ of an employee’s religious beliefs is required by employers, companies could discriminate against [them],” says The Guardian.
This is not the first time Abercrombie has been involved in religion vs. “style” controversy. In a 2013 settlement, two women were awarded $71,000 after both were discriminated against for wearing their headscarves in both Abercrombie Kids, and Hollister (owned by the Abercrombie company).
