Tag Archives: managing employees

Accommodating an Employee’s Religion Just Got Even More Complicated

I am pleased to share with you a blog I wrote for Entrepreneur

I have read, for the fourth time, the Supreme Court’s decision in EEOC v Abercrombie & Fitch and remain baffled. What is an employer to do?

Very briefly, in the case, the employee wore headscarves that are often worn by Muslim women. These scarves did not meet the ‘”look” A&F wanted. Managers there talked about their belief she might be Muslim, but never discussed the “look” issue with her.

Without getting caught in the legal weeds, the Supreme Court said A&F could be liable for religious discrimination by way of failure to accommodate, even though it only suspected the applicant’s religion and even though the applicant never requested an accommodation.

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