Because it can be abused to discriminate against people of a certain religion. And it has been used in the past to do so. Freedom of religion is in the constitution. While it may appear optional, for many it is part of their identity more so even than their race. The law is meant to prevent religious persecution. I think there has to be a litmus test though in applying the law on weather or not it negatively impacts the mission or spirit of the business, or would pose a safety issue. In a machine room for instance. Or having a metal cross near powerful magnets. Or a fashion company requiring an employee dresses in a way that aligns with their clothing if they are working in a customer facing role.
There is a litmus test. Employers have to accomodate religion unless it causes an undue burden on the business. A&F didn't even bother to try and claim that her hijab caused an undue burden on its business. They just said that they didn't have a burden to accommodate her because she didn't say that she wore a hijab for religious reasons. Title VII is quite clear in this regard.
Yes, but how is a woman's personal decision to wear religious attire at a job have anything to do with enforcing Sharia Law on the American public?
First of all, it might not be her personal decision, but that of men who put pressure on her to wear it. Secondly, religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one, but don't shove it in everyone's face. But I will concede that for the second argument, one gets into a slippery slope, e.g. with Sikh's turbans or whatever. I think a lot of the pros and cons are summed up in threads regarding the hijab ban in France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_scarf_controversy_in_France But there were good reasons why Atatürk banned the headscarf in Turkey. New age Islamist Hitler Erdogan is destroying all that.
ATW, I don't like the idea of women covering their hair/face/body also, however if a woman even if we believe she was brainwashed as a child to wear one should have the freedom to wear one and be a productive employed member of society.
Yes, but that has to be weighed against the freedom of running a business without having to have customer-facing staff shoving their religion into everyone's face.
I don't see how religious attire is shoving religion onto someone's face. To me, shoving religion onto someone's face involves some sort of proselytization. You have a low bar for 'shoving religion down someone's face' and this is coming from a so called 'angry atheist'. Next time I see a Jewish person wearing a yamaka on a public street I'll remind him to stop shoving his religion into my face.
I thought by now this ruling would be explained a little more but it hasn't. The ruling cannot seriously mean that a store cannot dictate dress code if the code is against the prospective employees religion? Every store in the galleria has a different look for their employees. If they didn't hire a girl for their corporate offices because she wore a burka/bedsheet I understand that is a problem. This seems like a massive over reach.
AE is one of the brands that is most upfront about selling an image. From their in store music to billboards and employees. If you tell them you cannot dictate dress code because of religion you are shoving it in their face.
I partially agree. If I were a Muslim woman who wore a hijab why would I even attempt employment at A&F anyways? However my point still stands. ATW stated that an employee wearing a hijab that interacts with customers is shoving their religion onto the customer's face just because she is talking to a customer with a hijab on. However I do agree that A&F is attempting to sell an image and that image usually entails people without a hijab. However I don't see how a woman working the register with a hijab on is shoving religion onto someone else.
I see girls wearing them all the time. I didn't mention muslims anywhere. I don't know or care anything about islam. I said burka because it is a more extreme example which I would still be OK protecting in a different work environment.
As someone who was extensivly involved in the Muslim community in two regions of the States(Houston and Boston) I only witnessed one woman wear a burka. I don't think you know what a Burka is. From my experience, more than a majority of Muslim women in the areas I lived don't even wear any head covering at all unless they are performing a religious duty such as salat or attending religious services at a mosque.
Is it this? Because I see them all the time. I don't know or care if they are muslim. I also don't see your point.
