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Teen alleges discrimination by Abercrombie & Fitch - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090918/ap_on_bi_ge/us_abercrombie_lawsuit - broken link)
I generally dislike Abercrombie for their emphasis on pornography and their all-white kids marketing and previous discrimination issues. But I think that they are right on this one. if this girl will not wear their clothes and chooses to make her religion front and center, then I think that they have a right to choose not to hire her.
Well, let's be honest here. It was discrimination. They didn't hire her based on her look. That is discrimination plain & simple. I don't know how anyone can deny that. On a side note: why would anyone want to work there anyway? The music level at that store is ridiculous.
Well, let's be honest here. It was discrimination. They didn't hire her based on her look. That is discrimination plain & simple. I don't know how anyone can deny that. On a side note: why would anyone want to work there anyway? The music level at that store is ridiculous.
Ehh. There are lots of jobs you can't do based on your look and it's not all "discrimination". Looks matters in fashion for example, which is what A&F is all about. Don't apply for a job you can't do for personal reasons, or try to work at a job you can't do for physical reasons, then yell "discrimination". That just weakens the whole idea of discrimination. Personally I think there was a lawsuit behind her choice to apply to A&F from the get go. I say hire her and put her in the stockroom and see how long she lasts, that should tell you whether she really wanted a job or a platform.
Well, let's be honest here. It was discrimination. They didn't hire her based on her look. That is discrimination plain & simple. I don't know how anyone can deny that. On a side note: why would anyone want to work there anyway? The music level at that store is ridiculous.
Not because of her look, because of her attire, which she refused to alter. I wish I could go to work in my pajamas, but I can't, I have to shower and shave and put on appropriate attire. I extend a bit of professional courtesy in order to keep the job.
Ehh. There are lots of jobs you can't do based on your look and it's not all "discrimination". Looks matters in fashion for example, which is what A&F is all about. Don't apply for a job you can't do for personal reasons, or try to work at a job you can't do for physical reasons, then yell "discrimination". That just weakens the whole idea of discrimination. Personally I think there was a lawsuit behind her choice to apply to A&F from the get go. I say hire her and put her in the stockroom and see how long she lasts, that should tell you whether she really wanted a job or a platform.
Maybe she's doing a project on discrimination? Who knows. Your other examples are not examples of discrimination. For instance, if you can't pass the physical exam for firefighter, you will not be hired. That's a no-brainer. If you can't perform a job for personal reasons, like you have to leave early every day because of your kids & your co-workers have to pick up the slack, then you shouldn't be at that job. But to not hire someone based purely on their looks, or head dress, yes that is discrimination.
Maybe she's doing a project on discrimination? Who knows. Your other examples are not examples of discrimination. For instance, if you can't pass the physical exam for firefighter, you will not be hired. That's a no-brainer. If you can't perform a job for personal reasons, like you have to leave early every day because of your kids & your co-workers have to pick up the slack, then you shouldn't be at that job. But to not hire someone based purely on their looks, or head dress, yes that is discrimination.
Well, I'm fairly certain I won't be hired to take a turn on the catwalk, but I'm not suing anyone becaue of it. FASHION is FASHION, either you have "the look" or you don't. No discrimination there. She can get the same kind of job in a different kind of store, one that isn't all about a certain look or fashion, that means she isn't actually being discriminated against but being weeded out by the employer as someone who isn't right for THAT job. That is perfectly legal. None of us has a right to be hired just because we want to work somewhere specific.
This all comes down to the fact that multiple cultures can't coexist on every level. People who come to the USA from other places, or people who choose to follow a particular life path, can't expect to fit in everywhere. All the laws and lawsuits in the world won't make that happen. Fit in or don't, it's your choice. And we can't make decisions in a bubble, we need to consider what it will mean to us and our place in society.
I was managing a quick lube place a few years ago and we hired on a gal in her early 20s to be a cashier. Now, cashiers DO help out outside on the cars (washing windows, checking tire pressure etc.) but she told us AFTER she got hired that she was not allowed to wear pants or short sleeved shirts because of her religion. We had to call our uniform company and have them MAKE us ankle lengthed skirts and special order her long sleeve shirts to wear, which meant she couldn't work outside in the summer (it was too hot) and she couldn't work outside because of modesty issues (we had pits and you can see up skirts when walking around the cars washing windows etc.).
That girl made life absolute hell for us for the 7 or so months she worked there. She wanted us to participate in morning prayer, refused to work outside, wouldn't get her hands dirty or do 'mans work' and constantly told us girls that we shouldn't be doing a man's job and we shouldn't work on cars. Of course, we couldn't fire her because she would have sued us for religious discrimination.. she threatened it more than once.
Businesses shouldn't have to rewrite their policies for a religious person.
Actually if it was documented in her file for refusing to do the jobs as decribed when hired, she could have been let go without violating itle VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
It states that reasonable accommodations must be made to accommodate religous beliefs. It certainly does not sound like she was able to perform the duties she was hired for.
I was going to post some info this girl had on Facebook that I found last night but it's been removed from the site. There was a picture of her and her friend who states she works at A & F Kids. The photo showed Samantha Elauf with hear arm around the friend. Samantha had the head scarf on.
I guess since the story exploded, she (or Facebook) went ahead and removed the page. I guess the fact that her friend works for A&F Kids might have hurt her case. haha
Curious though, would A & F not hire someone wearing a gold cross necklace, if they said they would not take it off due to their religious beliefs?
Just wondering.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JetJockey
I was managing a quick lube place a few years ago and we hired on a gal in her early 20s to be a cashier. Now, cashiers DO help out outside on the cars (washing windows, checking tire pressure etc.) but she told us AFTER she got hired that she was not allowed to wear pants or short sleeved shirts because of her religion. We had to call our uniform company and have them MAKE us ankle lengthed skirts and special order her long sleeve shirts to wear, which meant she couldn't work outside in the summer (it was too hot) and she couldn't work outside because of modesty issues (we had pits and you can see up skirts when walking around the cars washing windows etc.).
That girl made life absolute hell for us for the 7 or so months she worked there. She wanted us to participate in morning prayer, refused to work outside, wouldn't get her hands dirty or do 'mans work' and constantly told us girls that we shouldn't be doing a man's job and we shouldn't work on cars. Of course, we couldn't fire her because she would have sued us for religious discrimination.. she threatened it more than once.
Businesses shouldn't have to rewrite their policies for a religious person.
As a Christian, I'd say this woman was being too demanding. If following the orders of my employer would go against my religion, I'd leave that job because I cannot expect them to change their practices to accommodate me. Sounds to me that this woman knew what she was getting herself into and chose to be demanding versus finding a job that would be a better fit.
Regarding A&F, I could never work in that type of store as their ads and clothing are too sensual. I could never be comfortable and so they would never receive a job application from me. This woman should have applied to stores that would be more open to her wearing the scarf instead of imposing unreasonable demands that flies in the face of what A&F is about.
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