Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers in New Jersey and throughout the country may not discriminate against employees or applicants on the basis or religious beliefs and practices, unless it is necessary to avoid putting a business under undue hardship.

The clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has argued that it cannot allow Muslim workers to wear hijabs in stores because this poses an undue hardship; and it has fired or refused to hire at least three Muslim women because of this. However, three separate courts have now ruled that Abercrombie & Fitch’s refusal to employ Muslim women who wear hijabs is illegal religious discrimination.

One of the cases involved a 19-year-old woman who worked at a Hollister store, which is owned by Abercrombie & Fitch. The young woman worked in the stockroom, and she agreed to the employer’s request of wearing headscarves only in Hollister’s colors. In February 2010, she was told that hijabs were not allowed under the company-wide dress code. She was told that if she continued wearing headscarves to work, she would lose her job. On Feb. 23, 2010, she was fired.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Abercrombie & Fitch for religious discrimination, and a federal judge has now found the company liable.

Abercrombie & Fitch had argued that its dress code was the center of its business model, but it did not provide any credible evidence as to how the company’s success hinged on its dress code.

This ruling illustrates that Americans are protected under federal law from having to choose between employment and practicing their faiths.

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “Abercrombie & Fitch Liable for Religious Discrimination in EEOC Suit, Court Says,” Sept. 9, 2013