Last week, an Oklahoma district judge ruled clothing store giant Abercrombie & Fitch violated the civil rights of a Muslim teenager after firing her for insisting on wearing a headscarf to work. Attorneys for the retailer argued an exception to the "Look Policy would negatively impact the brand…," but the Court rejected that assertion (pdf).
[No Abercrombie executives] have conducted any studies or cite specific examples to support this opinion. Instead, Abercrombie relies on [an expert’s] expert opinion. [The expert], in turn, testified extensively about the importance of the in-store experience to Abercrombie’s marketing strategy, and opined that the granting of even one exception to the Look Policy would negatively impact the brand. He has made no effort, however, to collect or analyze data to corroborate his opinion….
Abercrombie has failed to meet its burden of establishing that granting Elauf an exception to the Look Policy would have caused undue hardship.
Following that decision, the case has moved to a jury trial to determine what, if any, damages are appropriate in response to this civil rights violation. The trial started yesterday (Monday) and is expected to last until Wednesday. Tulsa's Channel 6 news is watching the proceeding closely, with permission to live-tweet from the courtroom. Take a look.
