A majority of US Supreme Court
justices appear to be supportive of an argument that Abercrombie &
Fitch discriminated against a Muslim teenager.
Samantha Elauf argued she was denied a job because her headscarf conflicted with the company's dress code.
Abercrombie disputes the allegation, arguing Ms Elauf did not ask specifically for a religious exemption.
Questions from some of the justices were in favour of Ms Elauf, but their final decision will be made in May.
The clothing retailer has since changed its policy on headscarves but continues to fight the case in court.
In
a statement on Wednesday, the firm said it had a "longstanding
commitment to diversity and inclusion" and had "granted numerous
religious accommodations when requested, including hijabs".
US
law requires that employers must "reasonably accommodate" an employee's
religious beliefs, as long as it does not provide an undue hardship to
the business.
The US high court seeks to answer the question of whether a prospective employee must explicitly ask for a religious exemption.
The suit, which is being brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC), argues that Ms Elauf was denied the job because her
headscarf clashed with Abercrombie's "East Coast" style.
The
company states that store employees should not wear anything that
clashes with the brand's aesthetic, including head coverings and black
clothes.
During arguments on Wednesday, liberal and some conservative justices aggressively questioned the company's lawyer.
Justice
Samuel Alito, considered part of the court's conservative wing, said
there was no reason not to hire her unless the firm assumed she would
always wear a headscarf to work because of her religion.
He added employers could avoid such situations by asking prospective employees if they are able to abide by work rules.
Ms Elauf applied for a sales job at a Tulsa, Oklahoma, store in 2008.
The
woman who conducted the interview was impressed with Ms Elauf but was
concerned about her headscarf. After consulting with a supervisor, she
decided not to hire her.
The EEOC was initially successful in winning its case, and a jury awarded Ms Elauf $20,000 (£12,900) in damages.
What is Abercrombie & Fitch 'Look policy'?
natural looking make-up and no fingernail polish,
slender figure
tight denim
no black clothing
long hair for women
More: What is the Abercrombie look? However,
a higher court threw out that ruling, noting that Ms Elauf never
specified that she would need a religious exemption in her job
interview, even though she was wearing her headscarf during the process.
"An
employer cannot be liable for failing to accommodate a religious
conflict unless it knows that the religious conflict exists," wrote
Abercrombie's lawyers in court documents.
Ms Elauf's case is backed by a broad collection of religious groups - as well as gay and lesbian rights organisations. Hijab controversies France
- The European Court of Human Rights upheld the country's ban on the
niqab - the fully covering face veil. The court's ruled ban - and the
resulting 150-euro fine - "was not expressly based on the religious
connotation of the clothing in question but solely on the fact that it
concealed the face". UK - There is no ban in the UK on
face-covering veils but schools are allowed to decide their own dress
code after a 2007 directive which followed several high-profile court
cases.
In January 2010, then Schools Secretary Ed Balls said it
was "not British" to tell people what to wear in the street after the UK
Independence Party called for all face-covering Muslim veils to be
banned. Turkey - A ban on all headscarves at universities
was quietly lifted in 2010, and in 2013, the country lifted a ban on
women wearing headscarves in the country's state institutions - with the
exception of the judiciary, military and police - ending a decades-old
restriction.
More: The Islamic veil across Europe A
legal brief on behalf of Orthodox Jews filed in the case argues that
requiring job applicants to explicitly voice the need for
religion-related special treatment makes them less likely to be hired
without given cause.
Large state organisations as well as the US
Chamber of Commerce are supporting Abercrombie & Fitch's case over
concerns the court could set a precedent that would make them subject to
more discrimination claims.
The retailer settled two other
discrimination cases related to hijabs in 2013 and paid $40m to black,
Hispanic and Asian-American college students a decade ago over
discrimination in its hiring practices.
Since then, the firm has increased its sale assoc
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