Supreme Court backs job applicant in religious-freedom case

June 03, 2015

In an 8-1 decision, the US Supreme Court has sided with a Muslim woman who was not hired by Abercrombie & Fitch Stores because she wore a hijab, or headscarf.

In 2008, when Samantha Elauf was not offered the position, Abercrombie & Fitch’s dress code did not permit headscarves.

“An employer may not make an applicant’s religious practice, confirmed or otherwise, a factor in employment decisions,” Justice Antonin Scalia said in the majority opinion. “[A]n employer who acts with the motive of avoiding accommodation may violate Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964] even if he has no more than an unsubstantiated suspicion that accommodation would be needed.”

“Title VII does not demand mere neutrality with regard to religious practices—that they be treated no worse than other practices,” he added. “Rather, it gives them favored treatment, affirmatively obligating employers not to fail or refuse to hire or discharge any individual … because of such individual’s religious observance and practice.”

 

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Further information:

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. (US Supreme Court)
• Justices boost workplace religious protections (AP)
• U.S. top court backs Muslim woman denied job over head scarf (Reuters)
• High court: Religious practice protected at work (World)