October 3, 2014
Yesterday was the first day of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014-2015 term and the Court already has made a splash in employment law news.
In EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., the EEOC has claimed that Abercrombie failed to provide a reasonable religious accommodation for a hijab-wearing job applicant. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the EEOC and held that Abercrombie failed to provide a reasonable accommodation to its clothing policy. Abercrombie appealed the decision to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The 10th Circuit not only reversed the decision granting summary judgment to the EEOC, but issued summary judgement for Abercrombie.
The Appeals Court held, “the EEOC did not satisfy the second element of its prima facie case, as there is no genuine dispute of material fact that Ms. Elauf never informed Abercrombie prior to its hiring decision that her practice of wearing her hijab stemmed from her religious beliefs and that she needed an accommodation for this (inflexible) practice.”
The Supreme Court has accepted the EEOC’s appeal of the decision. This is a complex issue and we hope that the Court will issue some clear guidance for employers in dealing with these matters. In the interim, employers need to be cognizant of the potential discriminatory impact and associated liability that may arise from the administration of work place appearance policies.
For more information on personnel policies or other human resource needs please contact Clemans Nelson toll free at (800)-282-0787 or at one of the following regional offices:
Akron: 330-785-7700 Cincinnati: 513-583-9221 Dublin: 614-923-7700 Lima: 419-227-4945
