U.S. Supreme Court rules in favour of Muslim woman who wore 'hijab'

She was denied a job at a clothing store in Oklahoma because she wore a head scarf for religious reasons.

Samantha Elauf was denied a sales job at an Abercrombie Kids store in 2008

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled in favour of a Muslim woman who filed a lawsuit after she was denied a job at an Abercrombie & Fitch Co clothing store in Oklahoma because she wore a head scarf for religious reasons.

On a 8-1 vote, the court handed a win to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a federal agency that sued the company on behalf of Samantha Elauf. She was denied a sales job in 2008 at an Abercrombie Kids store in Tulsa when she was 17. The legal question before the court was whether Ms. Elauf was required to ask for a religious accommodation in order for the company to be sued under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which, among other things, bans employment discrimination based on religious beliefs and practices.

Religious accomodation Ms. Elauf was wearing a head scarf, or hijab , at the job interview but did not specifically say that, as a Muslim, she wanted the company to give her a religious accommodation.

The company denied Ms. Elauf the job on the grounds that wearing the scarf violated its “look policy” for members of the sales staff, a policy intended to promote the brand’s East Coast collegiate image.