Unbelievable

Here’s one of those lawsuits that gives Equal Employment Opportunity Commission a bad name. Abercrombie & Fitch  is being sued because its corporate dress code doesn’t allow for Muslim headscarves. As the story explains …

Is the company practicing discrimination if it won’t hire a young woman who covers her head for religious reasons? Yes, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Last week the EEOC filed suit against Abercrombie on behalf of Samantha Elauf, a 19-year-old community college student from Tulsa, Okla., who is Muslim. The suit alleges that Abercrombie “refused to hire Ms. Elauf because she wears a hijab.

What is the company’s dress code?  Abercrombie & Fitch flatly told the agency that “under the Look Policy, associates must wear clothing that is consistent with the Abercrombie brand, cannot wear hats or other coverings, and cannot wear clothes that are the color black.”

That doesn’t sound traumatic, does it?  Wear bright colors and leave your hat in your car.  Well …

Elauf is suing for back pay and compensation related to emotional pain and anxiety. “If these allegations are true,” says Chuck Thornton, deputy director of the ACLU of Oklahoma, “they are serious. In this day and age, it’s not acceptable. Certainly, a headscarf is part and parcel of the Islamic experience.”

Oh, I forgot to mention that along with the EEOC, this kind of lawsuit also gives the ACLU a bad name.

Hey, I have nothing against the Islamic experience.  But a company has a right to set a dress code at its stores.  We have a dress code here at my office, otherwise I’d be showing up in my pajamas (and maybe less on casual day).  A&F didn’t say its workers have to be pretty or blonde.  And if her Islamic experience is so important, then maybe she should apply for a job at some trendy Muslim clothing store.

Here’s another question:  If Ms. Elauf can sue for emotional pain and anxiety, can all the millions of Americans who don’t have jobs also sue?  I bet they’re feeling pretty anxious.

You think I’m a hater?  You think I don’t want workers to have rights?   Think again. I think there are very legitimate reasons to sue under the Equal Employment Opportunity guidelines and the Civil Rights Act.  And this kind of lawsuit de-legitimizes the lawsuits over real problems. 

But, eh, she’ll probably win.  More’s the pity.

What’s this have to do with commodities?  Nothing. Back to work, I’m being a slacker!

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