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 of a young Muslim woman who was denied a job at Abercrombie & Fitch because she wore a headscarf.


Samantha Elauf had applied for the sales job in Tulsa, Okla., in 2008 and was recommended for hire by an interviewer. But Abercrombie has a "look policy" that bars the wearing of caps by its salespeople.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission took up the case, and the U.S. District Court ruled in favor of Elauf, awarding her $20,000 in damages. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision, concluding that an employer cannot be held liable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act for failing to accommodate a religious practice until the applicant provides the employer with actual knowledge of his need for an accommodation.

Or, as NPR's Carrie Johnson explained for NPR's Newscast unit:

The dissenting vote was Justice Clarence Thomas.

In a statement, Abercrombie & Fitch says it has updated some of its hiring and personnel policies since Elauf's lawsuit:

However, the company says the Supreme Court "did not determine that A&F discriminated against Ms. Elauf" and that the company will "determine our next steps in the litigation."

The American Civil Liberties Union also weighed in. In a statement, ACLU national legal director Steven R. Shapiro said:


The Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, also welcomed what Executive Director Nihad Awad called a "historic ruling in defense of religious freedom at a time when the American Muslim community is facing increased levels of Islamophobia."  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Samantha Elauf had applied for the sales job in Tulsa, Okla., and was recommended for hire by an interviewer. But Abercrombie has a "Look Policy" that bars the wearing of caps by its salespeople.

Justices rule for woman denied Abercrombie & Fitch job over headscarf

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