Supreme Court to hear case of women denied job by Abercrombie over headscarf

New York -- The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a Muslim woman who was denied a job at an Abercrombie & Fitch Co. store because she wears a head scarf was required to specifically request a religious accommodation at the time of her job interview.



The court agreed to hear an appeal filed in the case by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency that sued the retailer on behalf of Samantha Elauf, who was denied a sales job at an Abercrombie Kids store in Tulsa, Oklahoma, back in 2008.



Elauf, who was 17 at the time, was wearing a head scarf (or hijab) at the time of the job interview. But she did not specifically request that, as a Muslim, she wanted the retailer to give her a religious accommodation. Abercrombie did not give Elauf the job, saying wearing the scarf violated its “look policy” for sales associates.



A federal district judge ruled in favor of Elauf and the government, and she was awarded $20,000 in damages. But that decision was reversed in an October 2013 ruling, when the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Elauf was required to ask for an accommodation.



The court said the company couldn’t be held liable because Elauf never explicitly notified Abercrombie that her religious practice conflicted with company policies.



The EEOC subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court to review case. It said Elauf never requested an accommodation because she didn’t know about the “look policy.” It also claims that Abercrombie knew Elauf needed to wear the headscarf for religious reasons, or else it wouldn’t have denied her a job.



A ruling by the court is expected by the end of June 2015.