Erika Restrepo
Class: Human Resources Management
Professor: Gwendolyn Wilson
Date: November 23, 2015

Abercrombie Religious Discrimination Case

Employment discrimination is a form of discrimination based on race, gender, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, and age by employer’s .Where the Human Resources Department role is to bring and maintain diversity in a workplace and create an equal work environment so employment discrimination can be control and avoid by any company.

The Abercrombie case of religious discrimination is related to Human resources because this case shows how religion was a key for Samantha Elauf not to get hired by this company.

Samantha Elauf was a 17 year old teenager that applied for a children's clothing job at Abercrombie &Fitch at Woodland Hills Mall in Tulsa Oklahoma in 2008. She wore a black scarf on her head and didn’t say why. The company declined in hiring her, saying that her scarf clashed with the dress policy of the company.

This experience with Abercrombie made her feel disrespected because of her religious beliefs so she decided to file a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), alleging religious discrimination.

The EEOC filed suit against Abercrombie & Fitch alleging that Abercrombie refused to hire Samantha Elauf due to her religion, and that it failed to accommodate her religious beliefs by making an exception to its "Look Policy.”

The Supreme Court favored Samantha Elauf stating that employers cannot refuse to hire applicants based on religious belief or practice, even if not specifically asked for an accommodation .An employer who acts with the motive of avoiding accommodation may violate the law and they cannot make an applicant's religious practice confirmed.

This decision of the Supreme Court was an example of how employers needs to