Abercrombie Fires Muslim Worker For Head Scarf? Company Claims Wearing Hijab Negatively Affects Sales! [VIDEO & REPORT]

By Jobs & Hire Staff Reporter | Sep 10, 2013 12:58 PM EDT

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A Muslim teen worker was fired by Abercrombie & Fitch for wearing a head scarf, citing that the piece of cloth is against its dress code, ABC News reported Tuesday.

Hani Khan, the 18-year-old Muslim worker of Abercrombie & Fitch, scored a legal victory after the judge ruled last Tuesday the anti-discrimination suit against the trendy clothing retailer after it fired the Muslim worker for wearing a hijab to work.

The Muslim teen was fired from the retailer's Hollister store in San Mateo, California in 2010 after she refused to remove her head scarf.

Khan said that the manager of the store approached her after four months of being on the job.

"She expressed concern about my hijab," Khan told ABC News. "That's when I felt like it was not appropriate, what they were saying."

"They just don't feel like it fits in with their 'Look Policy,' which I feel is very unfair," Khan added.

Abercrombie claimed that the head scarf of the hijab not only violated the dress code of its employees, but it might also negatively affect its sales.

However, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers said the company does not have "credible evidence" to show that the head scarf cost its sales to dwindle or decrease in one way or the other.

"Abercrombie only offers unsubstantiated opinion testimony of its own employees to support its claim of undue hardship," Judge Rogers added.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit on Khan's behalf in 2011. The trial on the company's liability and punitive damages is scheduled to happen on Sept. 30.

"Abercrombie & Fitch does not discriminate based on religion and we grant religious accommodations when reasonable," Company Spokesman Bruce MacKenzie said. "It is our policy not to comment on pending litigation."

The LA Times noted that this is not the first time Abercrombie & Fitch face image-related issues in court. It has been a target of a variety of discrimination lawsuits because of its strict dress code.

Protestors gathered outside the retailer's stores earlier this year after an interview taped in 2006 with the company's CEO Mike Jeffries surfaced on social media.

Protesters highlighted the CEO's statement on the interview, which said that the company markets only to "cool, good-looking people. We don't market to anyone other than that."

Meanwhile Khan shared that she hopes her lawsuit would make a big impact to the company in changing its policy particularly its dress code terms.

"I really hope that they look into their policies and practices," Khan said, "and they're able to reflect some changes."

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