Written by Don Byrd
After a judge determined clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch was liable for religious discrimination after firing her for refusing to remove her Islamic headscarf, all that was left for the jury was to determine the extent of damages. Tulsa World reports on the $20,000 verdict:
EEOC regional attorney Barbara Seely told the jury during her closing argument that Elauf – who was born in the United States – had never been discriminated against before, hasn’t gotten over how she was treated, and will always remember it.
Elauf had testified Tuesday that she felt insulted and disrespected after she discovered that she was not hired because of the scarf.
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Seely said Wednesday’s jury verdict was “icing on the cake” for the EEOC after previously winning on the liability issue.“Samantha Elauf deserves every penny,” Seely said. “She is a courageous young woman who stuck with this case for three years in order to stand up for her rights and the rights of every Muslim woman to work wearing a headscarf.”
The judge declined to issue an injunction that would have required Abercrombie to notify potential employees wearing headscarf to job interviews of their opportunity to request a religious exemption to the company’s policy.
