Abercrombie's Look Policy Case Study

Imagine that you are a young seventeen year old who is nervous right before an interview. You make sure your clothes are perfect, you don’t smell bad, you take one last look in the mirror before you head off and you are reminded by your reflection that you do not fit the “American” mold. All though you are fully aware of this you pack up your nerves and head off to the interview. Thoughts may include, don’t talk too much, answer all that questions right, don’t do anything stupid as you head to the interview. You are interviewing at a store that you already like a lot and you think that it will be perfect if you work there. But there is one thing constantly in the back of your head. You wear a head scarf. It is not for fun or for looks but rather …show more content…
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Plaintiff, ABERCROMBIE & FITCH STORES, INC. dba ABERCROMBIE KIDS, Defendant, 2013, p. 4 line 2). The Look Policy requires employees to model Abercrombie-style clothes and keep their style in line with the “East Coast Collegiate style” that the company makes clothes for (U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Plaintiff, ABERCROMBIE & FITCH STORES, INC. dba ABERCROMBIE KIDS, Defendant., 2013, p. 3 line 16). By wearing these types of clothes, the employees themselves become marketing for the company, and it is essential to the marketing strategy for employees to adhere to this (U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Plaintiff, ABERCROMBIE & FITCH STORES, INC. dba ABERCROMBIE KIDS, Defendant., 2013, p. 4 line 2) However, Abercrombie has made several exceptions to the Look Policy, on a case-by-case basis (U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Plaintiff, ABERCROMBIE & FITCH STORES, INC. dba ABERCROMBIE KIDS, Defendant., 2013, p. 4 line 25). As long as the employee is willing to largely wear the right type of clothes, Abercrombie has accommodated several religious needs, including accommodations for religious hijabs in some cases (U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Plaintiff, ABERCROMBIE & FITCH STORES, INC. dba ABERCROMBIE KIDS, Defendant., 2013, p. 4 line 25). Though there was an opportunity for Ms. Banafa to wear a headscarf in compliance with Abercrombie’s core colors in their Look Policy, this option was not explored, and instead, Ms. Banafa was passed over for the job because she did not suit the “Abercrombie look” (U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Plaintiff, ABERCROMBIE & FITCH STORES, INC. dba ABERCROMBIE KIDS, Defendant., 2013, p. 6 line 13). Since there are many ways to accommodate Ms. Banafa’s hijab without violating the marketing strategy, this does not qualify as a Bona-Fide Occupational