By refusing to hire a Tulsa teen after she wore a Muslim headscarf to a job interview, clothing chain Abercrombie Kids violated her civil rights, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The court decided 8-1 that the retailer should have asked Samantha Elauf if she wore the headscarf for religious reasons, according to The Oklahoman. Abercrombie Kids, a branch of Abercrombie & Fitch, refused to hire her to work at a Tulsa mall in 2008 when she was 17.
She was never asked about her headscarf, nor was she told that it violated the company’s “look policy” regarding how employees should appear while at work. After not getting the job, she was later told by a friend who worked at the store it was because she wore a headscarf to the interview.
A federal judge originally ruled in favor of Elauf and awarded her $20,000 in damages. An appeals court then reversed the decision last year, and said the burden should have been on her to explain that she was wearing the headscarf for religious reasons so the federal Civil Rights Act could have then protected her.
On Monday, the Supreme Court reversed the appeals court ruling.
Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion, and was joined by Justices John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Justice Samuel Alito filed an opinion concurring in the judgment and Justice Clarence Thomas filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.
Read the full decision here.
