WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court on Monday said a Muslim woman who
applied to work at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. can raise
discrimination claims without proving the company intentionally
avoided hiring her because she wore a head scarf for religious
reasons.
The decision heightened the duty employers have to accommodate
workers' religious practices, ruling that federal law requires
"favored treatment" of faith-based observances, not simply equal
status with other activities.
Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the court's 8-1 opinion in the
case. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented.
Samantha Elauf had complained to the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission after learning she was rejected for a sales
job at an Abercrombie Kids store in Tulsa's Woodland Hills Mall
because she wore a head scarf. The parent company Abercrombie &
Fitch maintained that it rejected her not because she was
Muslim—the subject of religion didn't arise during her
interview—but because head scarves violated Abercrombie's dress
code, which prohibited caps.
Federal civil rights law requires employers to "reasonably
accommodate" workers' and applicants' religious practices, unless
so doing would impose more than a minimal burden on the business.
Similar rules apply to disabilities and pregnancy.
After informal talks between the commission and the company came
to naught, the EEOC sued Abercrombie for religious discrimination.
A federal-district court in Tulsa awarded Ms. Elauf $20,000 in
compensation. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver
threw out the judgment because she hadn't explicitly asked the
company to accommodate her religious practice.
The appeals court found it would be unfair to hold Abercrombie
liable based on a manager's speculation—even though it was
accurate—that Ms. Elauf wore the head scarf for religious
reasons.
The Supreme Court reversed the appeals court holding.
Since the Elauf case, the EEOC has issued guidance to employers,
advising that the duty to accommodate religious practices doesn't
depend on an applicant or employee explicitly requesting it. If an
employer is unsure, the commission advises them to seek more
information. In other instances, it will be "obvious that the
practice is religious and conflicts with a work policy," requiring
accommodation.
Abercrombie, meanwhile, has changed its policy to allow head
scarves.
Since being rejected by Abercrombie, Ms. Elauf has worked at Old
Navy and Forever 21, and earlier this year was hired as
merchandising manager when Urban Outfitters opened its first
Oklahoma location in Tulsa's Brookside district.
Write to Jess Bravin at jess.bravin@wsj.com
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