SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP) – A federal judge in San Francisco has ruled that trendy clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch wrongly fired a Muslim worker who insisted on wearing a head scarf.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said the New Albany-based company violated anti-discrimination laws when it fired Hani Khan from its store in San Mateo, Calif., in 2010.
The company claimed the head scarf violated its policy governing the look of its employees, which it said was part of its marketing strategy. The store argued that deviating from its look policy would affect sales.
But the judge said Abercrombie & Fitch offered no “credible evidence” that Khan’s head scarf cost the company any sales.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit on Khan’s behalf in 2011.