Religious Clothing Discrimination in the Workplace

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         How would you feel if you walked into a clothing store and were automatically judged by something you wore for personal and religious reasons? One woman, Samantha Elauf was not your typical Abercrombie and Fitch sales associate, or even a “model.” She applied in 2008 for a job at Abercrombie in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Even though her application as a 17 year old happened seven years ago, the issue is still being fought out to this day.

   This case was brought to the Supreme Court, allowing the justices to weight the difficulties faced in employment, especially with religious minorities, “in particular women who cover their heads in public – against the rights of employers to avoid ‘undue hardship’ Their decision will hinge on a narrower question, however: Must the job applicant request a religious accommodation, or should the employer recognize the need for it?” Personally I think the employer should recognize the need for it. The hijab is a religious dress that is very important in Muslim culture. It represents Muslim women all over the world, and just because it does not fit the image Abercrombie is trying to maintain, then the stores should penalized for judging someone based on what they wear as religious freedom.

            Even though you think we would have evolved enough to not discriminate against people in a religious sense, “a study by the American Civil Liberties Union Women’s Rights Project found that 69% of women wearing hijabs have faced discrimination, compared with 29% of those not wearing such head scarfs” (Wolff). This is shocking that well over half women with hijabs, applying for jobs have faced discrimination, and those who don’t wear hijabs, still see discrimination in the work place.

If the justices rule against Abercrombie, the group says, "Employers will be forced to rely on stereotypes in order to ascertain an employee's or prospective employee's religion, which will lead to an increase in discrimination suits against employers." This is pretty much stating that if the ruling goes against Abercrombie, an increase in stereotypes will exist, causing more stereotype situations in job positions. The main question that is being asked in this scenario is that, should job applicants request a religious accommodation? Or should the employer just recognize the need for it? 

Abercrombie has seen an increase in different races joining their workforce, mainly because they faced a noteworthy defendant case. A lawsuit was settled that was brought by black, Hispanic, and Asian-American college students, that was settled for $40 million a decade ago. Abercrombie pledged diversity in its hiring. They claimed to have become less discriminatory, but Abercrombie will keep facing these issues if they just want to market to the idea of someone who is thin, young, white, good-looking, and has an Ivy League, preppy style.