U.S. Supreme Court Rules for Muslim Woman Denied Job at Abercrombie

Steven Loewengart was quoted in The Columbus Dispatch on June 2, 2015. The article “U.S. Supreme Court Rules for Muslim Woman Denied Job at Abercrombie” discussed the Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday for a Muslim woman who did not get hired after she showed up to a job interview with central Ohio-based Abercrombie & Fitch wearing a black headscarf.

Steven was quoted on his take of the ruling.

The Supreme Court’s decision “is a strange opinion,” said Steven.

“It goes out of its way to say, ‘You don’t have to have knowledge,’ ” Steven said. “The opinion of Justice Alito says, ‘How is that possible — to show motivating factor — if there’s no prior knowledge?’ The end result is, there is going to be increased burden on employers to explain such policies and then to invite requests for accommodations.”

 “This case probably wouldn’t have happened if the interviewer said, ‘We have this “look” policy,' ” Steven said. “’Let me know if you have any problem.’ That would have given the plaintiff the opportunity to say, ‘I have a problem. I wear a hijab and wear it for religious reasons.’

“When the case goes back down to a lower court, the facts are going to be explored more,” Steve said. “Then we’ll see how the courts deal with accommodation.”

To read the full article, please visit The Columbus Dispatch.