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Abercrombie and Title VII's Broad Definition of Religion

By Debbie Kaminer
November 30, 2014

The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in a religious accommodation case, EEOC v. Abercrombie. This case involves a Muslim teenager, Samantha Elauf, who was denied a job at an Abercrombie & Fitch store because she wore a black headscarf, or hijab, to her job interview. Abercrombie argued not only that the company should not be required to hire and accommodate Elauf, but additionally that they were never given actual notice that she was wearing the hijab for religious reasons.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit granted summary judgment to Abercrombie, holding that the company did not have an obligation to accommodate Elauf since “Ms. Elauf never informed Abercrombie prior to its hiring decision that her practice of wearing a hijab was based on her religious beliefs.” EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch, 731 F.3d 1106, 1116 (10th Cir. 2013). In other words, the court held that an employee in a religious accommodation case has an obligation to give direct explicit notice to her employer that her religious practices conflict with a neutral work rule.

Background

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