Keeping Civil Rights Debates Civil: Removing Opportunities for Prejudice

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion in employment decisions made by private employers. This commentary analyzes Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch, a case before the Supreme Court on the issue of whether a job applicant bears the burden of expressly notifying an employer of a conflict between the applicant’s religious beliefs and the employer’s policies before the employer must offer a reasonable accommodation. This case deals with a Muslim woman who was denied employment at a clothing store because her headdress was deemed to be a violation of the store’s policy on employee attire. The Author argues that the Court should recognize that the underlying congressional intent was to curtail employment discrimination and so should rule in the favor of Petitioner