The Muslim teen rejected from a job at an Abercrombie & Fitch Co. for wearing a religious headdress will have her case heard by U.S. Supreme Court.
Samantha Elauf was 17 years old when her black hijab failed to get her a job from a Tulsa, Oklahoma, Abercrombie Kids store because it violated the company’s dress code.
The rejection prompted the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to file a case on behalf of Elauf to target the policy that forbids its sales staff or “models” from wearing hats or black clothing, according to a Bloomberg report.
The justices will decide in early 2015 if the clothing retailer or any employer is liable for rejecting an applicant or terminating an employee after learning of a religious conflict even though federal law requires employers to accommodate religious practices as long as it doesn’t affect the business.
The case will use Elauf’s case an example to show if Abercrombie was in the right to deny Elauf a job for wearing her religious black hijab the day of her 2008 interview even though she was not aware of the company’s policies, Bloomberg reported.
She won over the Tulsa store’s assistant manager during a 2008 job interview, but after consulting a regional manager, it was determined the scarf worn by some Muslim women violated the dress code. It cost Elauf her position.
The EEOC’s case was initially filed in 2009 and won a $71,000 settlement out of Abercrombie, but a federal appeal reversed the decision because Elauf did not tell her potential employers she required a religious exemption to wear the scarf.
The company also argued it should not have been forced to ask Elauf or any employees about their religious views, Bloomberg reported.
The ruling also meant employers could take action even though employees may not be aware of policies that impede their religious practices.
Abercrombie later altered its hiring practices in 2013 to make exceptions for Muslim women that wish to wear their hijabs.
The EEOC’s case will follow a religious exemption approved by the U.S. Supreme Court in June that gave corporations discretion on how to cover birth control for employees.
It is also the second case added to the 2015 docket to address religious exceptions. The court is also examining if it’s okay for Muslim prisoners to grow beards.
