Amid pressure from civil rights groups and private industry, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has vetoed a controversial piece of legislation that would have allowed religious groups and individuals to deny services to same-sex couples and for faith-based employers to not hire someone based on their sexual orientation. [More]
religious discrimination
Supreme Court: Job Applicants Don’t Have To Explain That Their Garb Is Religious
By 6.1.15
Back in February, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of a 17-year-old who applied to work for the children’s clothing store under the Abercrombie & Fitch brand. She was apparently beautiful enough to work there, but always wore a black scarf on her head. Did she wear it for religious reasons, which would mean that it couldn’t be a factor in hiring decisions? She didn’t say, so Abercrombie didn’t hire her. That case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which issued an opinion today. [More]
Abercrombie & Fitch Lawsuit That Isn’t Really About Hijabs Presented To Supreme Court
By 2.26.15
Five years ago, a teen applied for a job at a store selling clothes for a children’s clothing store that is part of the Abercrombie & Fitch brand. She wore a hijab, a headcovering that many female Muslims wear, and said that she would continue to wear it to work. This week, her case is before the U.S. Supreme Court, asking an odd question: does a job applicant need to specify that they’re wearing a religious garment or accessory for religious reasons? [More]
Atheist Group Points Out Diner’s “Praying In Public” Discount Is A Civil Rights Violation
By 8.8.14
Last week, a diner in North Carolina made headlines for giving a 15% discount to customers who said grace before eating. While the owner argued that the discount was more about rewarding customers who express “gratitude,” it’s hard to ignore that the discount is described on receipts as a discount for “Praying in Public.” [More]
EEOC: Company Forced Employees To Practice Onion-Based Religion
By 6.13.14
This could just be a regular story about a company allegedly using its power over employees to force them to practice a specific religion until the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission intervened, and that would be interesting enough. However, an EEOC lawsuit alleges that the owners of a Long Island health insurance company forced employees to practice a belief system started by a relative. [More]
Woman Claims Planet Fitness Asked Her To Swap Muslim Headscarf For Baseball Cap
By 3.21.14
Yesterday, we shared with you the story of a new Planet Fitness member who was asked to cover up because her belly-baring tank top was too revealing. Now a case that’s the exact opposite is in the news: a woman in New Mexico is suing the chain after she was asked not to cover up so much in the club. Specifically, the practicing Muslim was told that she couldn’t wear a headscarf in the club. [More]
Muslim Complains TGI Friday’s Contaminated Her Drink With Bacon
By 10.3.13
Most people are really happy about the current trend to put bacon in every food item, but do you know who isn’t? Vegetarians, vegans, and people whose religions prohibit them from eating pork. Like the Muslim woman who ordered her Cobb salad without bacon, please, and claims that she ended up with bacon crumbles in her straw, instead. [More]
Abercrombie & Fitch Agrees To Let Employees Wear Headscarves As Part Of Settlement
By 9.24.13
After a judge said that Abercrombie & Fitch’s ban on head coverings — detailed in its controversial “Look Policy” for employees — violates workers’ rights, the company that courts the cool, skinny kids has agreed to tweak its dress code and allow store employees to wear headscarves. [More]
Fight Discriminatory TSA Profiling With Your Smartphone
By 5.1.12
It’s hard to find any travelers with nice things to say about the Transportation Safety Administration, but members of the Sikh faith really have a grievance. They claim that they’re singled out for secondary screening at airport security to an extent that’s discriminatory, and frequently ordered to allow inspections or removal of their turbans. So they’re fighting back in 21st century fashion: with a smartphone app. [More]
Muslim Hollister Employee Fired Because Of Headscarf
By 2.25.10
Update: This is the new discrimination incident that this post was about. Sorry for the link mixup. There are evidently a lot of things that violate the “look policy” of Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister stores. For example, having a prosthetic arm. Or wearing an Islamic head scarf. According to the complaint a California woman filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a Hollister store hired her, then fired after a visit from a district manager who found the scarf inappropriate work attire. [More]
