OKLAHOMA CITY - A Muslim teenager contends in a federal lawsuit that she was denied a job at an Abercrombie & Fitch clothing store at a Tulsa mall because she wore a head scarf.
In the lawsuit filed Wednesday in US District Court in Tulsa by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 17-year-old Samantha Elauf said she applied for a sales position at the Abercrombie Kids store in the Woodland Hills Mall in June 2008. The teen, who wears a hijab in accordance with her religious beliefs, says the manager told her the head scarf violates the store’s “Look Policy.’’
A spokeswoman for the New Albany, Ohio-based retailer declined to comment on the lawsuit but said the company has “a strong equal employment opportunity policy, and we accommodate religious beliefs and practices when possible.’’
An attorney for the EEOC contends the company violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects workers from discrimination based upon religion in hiring.
The suit seeks back pay for the teen and a permanent injunction against the retailer from participating in discriminatory employment practices.
