CA UPDATE: A Dress Code Can Result In Major Legal Claims

Discrimination & Harassment, Employment Law & HR Topics, Forms and Policies / By
WASHINGTON (Sept 2013) — a federal judge in California ruled last   week that clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. discriminated against a Muslim employee on religious grounds, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Monday. The lawsuit was filed by the EEOC in 2011 on behalf of Umme-Hani Khan, a Muslim who was fired in February 2010 because her head scarf didn’t conform to the company’s dress code called its “Look Policy.” Ms. Khan, who worked for Abercrombie’s Hollister unit, was asked to wear head scarves in Hollister colors when she began working at the San Mateo, Calif., Hollister store in October 2009. She complied, but four months later was told her head scarf violated the dress code and that she would need to remove it at work, according to the ruling. She refused and was terminated. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California ruled that since Ms. Khan’s head scarf was the only departure from the “Look Policy,” her termination violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars religious discrimination and mandates that employers accommodate religious practices unless they impose “undue hardship” on the company. Judge Gonzalez Rogers dismissed Abercrombie’s claim that any deviation from its dress code “threatens the company’s success,” along with its defense that Ms. Khan failed to exhaust administrative remedies and that the suit violated its First Amendment right to commercial free speech. A trial on damages and injunctive relief is scheduled for Sept. 30. Abercrombie in 2004 paid a $40 million settlement to minority and female plaintiffs who accused the retailer of race and gender discrimination. Recommendations:
  1. Review dress code policies to ensure they are legally compliant.
  2. Properly train all managers and supervisors in religious discrimination and accommodation.
  3. Ensure that staff is aware of their rights and how to voice a complaint.
  4. Review company redress procedures to ensure timely and effective resolutions of complaints