Discrimination In the Workplace

Do you have a job? Do you feel you have been discriminated against? Know your rights. Defend yourself with the law.

Federal law strictly prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, pregnant women, age, and people with disabilities. According to http://www.hrhero.com/topics/discrimination.html, these standards apply to employers when hiring, firing, demoting or promoting their employees.

Discrimination in the workplace occurs a lot more often than most people would believe. It happens in both the biggest and smallest of businesses. In fact, Abercrombie & Fitch, a popular retail store amongst teens, has been dealing with a number of discrimination cases recently. There has been one case, in particular, where the company was sued for racial discrimination. At one of the company's store locations in the Great Mall in Milpitas, California, an 18-year-old Muslim female showed up for a job interview wearing a hijab (religious head scarf) in March of 2008. Answering yes to the manager's question of whether it was necessary for her to wear the head scarf or not, he wrote down "not Abercrombie look" on her interview form. Following the interview, the girl was not hired. It is clear that this girl failed to be hired because she did not fall within Abercrombie's unwritten "Look Policy". This is outright racial discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandates that such an act be illegal. In this case, it comes into play by prohibiting employers from classifying employees or job applicants based on race or a practice thereof (the head scarf). So, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit against the company. The outcome of the case is yet to be determined, but I am hoping Abercrombie is found at fault for their discriminatory behavior and held to demanding consequences.

It's common knowledge that Abercrombie favors fit, young, attractive Caucasians to model their clothes and work in their stores. After being sued so many times over discrimination in their workplace, Abercrombie has made an effort to hire more of an ethnically diverse work force. Unfortunately, it has been found that the people who stray from their desired look are often required to stock merchandise in the back of the store where they can't be seen, or during the late evening hours when the number of customers filtering through the store is drastically fewer. As much as Abercrombie says they're making these changes, they're cutting all the corners and shying away from owning up to their responsibility as a company; obey the law.