Hani Khan took her case to the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who then determined that the company had discriminately fired her.

CALIFORNIA — Hani Khan, 20, from the San Francisco Bay Area, has filed a lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch after the company had fired her for refusing to remove her head scarf while working at one of the company’s stores at Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo, California.

According to Khan, when she had originally been hired by the store management in October 2009, they had no issue with her headscarf as long as she still wore the company’s clothes during her shift, which is part of the “look policy” the company implements for all its employees. 

Abercrombie’s “look policy” requires its employees to dress in its American style beach inspired  clothes including jeans, flip flops and t-shirts, in order to better promote their products while customers are shopping within the store. Many critics believe the “look policy” of the company only translates to young white athletic looking people. 

After a visit was made by the company’s district manager to Khan’s store in February 2010, he had informed her that her headscarf was a violation for the company and demanded she no longer wear it to work.

After Khan refused to listen to the District Manager’s demands, she was suspended for a full week and then eventually fired before she could even return.

Khan decided to take her case to the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who then determined that the company had discriminately fired her.   

Abercrombie’s “look policy” requires its employees to dress in its American style beach inspired clothes such as jeans, flip flops and t-shirts, in order to better promote their products while customers are shopping within the store. Many critics believe the “look policy” of the company only translates to young white athletic looking people.

“Abercrombie prides itself on requiring what it calls ‘a natural, classic American style,” said Araceli Martinez-Olguin, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, which is representing Khan. “But there is nothing American about discriminating against someone because of their religion.”

While the company has refused to go into specifics about any of the lawsuits, they did release the following statement;

“We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals regardless of religion, race or ethnicity. … We comply with the law regarding reasonable religious accommodation.”

Abercrombie has been the target of numerous discrimination lawsuits, including a federal class action brought by black, Hispanic and Asian employees and job applicants that was settled for $40 million in 2004. Just recently, two other employees have also filed suit, claiming they were fired for wearing a headscarf as well.  

“Growing up in this country where the Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of religion, I felt let down,” Khan said at a recent news conference. “This case is about principles, the right to be able to express your religion freely and be able to work in this country.”Khan’s suit seeks to force Abercrombie to change its dress code to loosen restrictions on religious clothing. She is also seeking back wages and unspecified damages.