Abercrombie Sued Over Discrimination!

Filed Under: Legal Matters Abercrombie & Fitch

Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is in some hot water.

In a new lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Muslim teenager Samantha Elauf claims she applied for a sales position in June of 2008, but she was told by a manager that wearing a head scarf violates the store's "Look Policy".

If this happened in 2008, what took them so long to file the lawsuit?

Of course, the peeps over at A&F are saying the company has "a strong equal employment opportunity policy, and we accommodate religious beliefs and practices when possible."

According to the attorney: "It is unlawful for employers to treat applicants or workers differently based on their religious beliefs or practices in any aspect of employment, including recruitment, hiring and job assignments."

The EEOC is seeking "back pay for the teen and a permanent injunction against the retailer from participating in what it describes as discriminatory employment practices" as well as "undisclosed monetary and non-monetary losses resulting from "emotional pain, suffering, anxiety, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation and inconvenience."

And to top it off the suit is also seeking punitive damages for its "malice or reckless indifference to her federally protected rights."

In other words, they're trying to get as much money out of Abercrombie as possible, like the EEOC did back in 2004 when A&F agreed to pay $50 million in a lawsuit that accused the company of promoting whites over minorities and having an all-white image in the catalogs.

Wonder how much they'll settle for this time?

[Image via WENN.]

Posted: September 23, 2009 at 12:00 pm