The EEOC filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Philadelphia woman who was fired for wearing a head scarf to work. The headscarf is part of her garb in keeping with her religious beliefs.
According to the article in Philly.com…”the suit said that El, of Philadelphia, was hired by ABM Security Services, of California, to work at the center on Feb. 21, 2011. She was fired the next day, the suit said, when she showed up in uniform, wearing the khimar, which covers her hair and ears, but not her face.”
The article further elaborated…”ABM said some clients require adherence to a strict uniform code. The company said in a statement that it was disappointed that EEOC filed the suit because El was given the opportunity to work elsewhere but declined.”
This is not the first of such cases. I believe there is also a similar case at Disney Land where there, too, the woman was offered another job. I am sure there are others.
So I guess there is a question as to what constitutes reasonable dress codes and to what lengths must an employer go to not discriminate against an employee because of the employee’s religious beliefs. Are there security issues involved ? If the employer offers the employee another position within the company, presumably for equal pay, does that constitute an accommodation?
It will be interesting to see how this case plays out.
