Suit: Disney Fired Woman Who Wore Hijab

[maxime29]

Sorry if this had been posted already, but I did a search on some key terms and didn't find any. Thought this would be interesting to show:

ORLANDO, Fla. - Wearing a Muslim hijab, or head scarf, cost a woman both her jobs at Walt Disney World, she says in a lawsuit.

"To stop you from working for practicing your religion doesn't seem right to me," Aicha Baha said Friday, several days after her civil-rights suit was served on the company. "There is a family here that is almost out on the street because of Disney."


Disney policy generally prohibits any headwear but Disney-issued hats and visors.


Disney spokeswoman Veronica Clemons said exceptions to the dress code for religious reasons are made on a case-by-case basis. "We do have cast members who have attire significant to their religions," she said.


Disney policy prohibits discussion of lawsuits, she told the Orlando Sentinel.


Baha, 32, worked at Walt Disney World from 1997 until mid-August 2002 and wore uniforms in her jobs as a part-time bellhop and a full-time sales clerk at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, according to interviews and the lawsuit she filed last week in federal court in Orlando.


She started wearing a hijab after taking maternity leave in 2002. She said her faith grew during that time.


"It wasn't something just for fun," she said. "It's like God is asking you to do it."


When she returned to her two jobs, she wore the scarf but her supervisors balked, she said.


Disney fired her from the part-time post because she refused to remove the scarf, the suit says. She was allowed to wear the scarf at her full-time job, but she quit after being transferred to a location where her sales commissions fell from as much as $700 a week to $40 a week, the lawsuit claims.

Yahoo Link

 

[General Grizz]

Here's a longer verson from the Orlando Sentinel:

Muslim Sues Over Disney's Dress Code

Her civil-rights suit claims the company fired her because of her religious head scarf.

By Henry Pierson Curtis
Sentinel Staff Writer

May 22, 2004

Wearing a hijab has meant not being able to work at Walt Disney World, according to a former employee who claims she lost her job because she refused to remove her Muslim head scarf.

Aicha Baha's civil-rights suit, served this week on Disney, may be the first-ever challenge of the employee dress code at the Central Florida attraction.

"To stop you from working for practicing your religion doesn't seem right to me," the Morocco-born Kissimmee resident said Friday. "There is a family here that is almost out on the street because of Disney."

The hijab is a head scarf that some Muslim women choose to wear as a sign of modesty. Disney policy prohibits the wearing of anything but Disney-issued hats and visors.

"We don't discriminate," Disney spokeswoman Veronica Clemons said, saying exceptions to the dress code for religious reasons are made on a case-by-case basis. "We do have cast members who have attire significant to their religions."

Disney policy prohibits discussion of lawsuits, she said.

Any form of discrimination over religious beliefs is prohibited by the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requires employers to accommodate workers' religious beliefs, "unless doing so would impose an undue hardship."

Undue hardship is not defined.

Baha, 32, worked at Walt Disney World from 1997 until mid-August 2002 and wore uniforms, referred to as "costumes," in her jobs as a bellhop and a sales clerk at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, according to interviews and the lawsuit she filed last week in federal court in Orlando.

She did not wear the hijab during that time.

But when she took maternity leave in 2002, her faith grew and she decided to wear the hijab when she returned to work in August.

"It wasn't something just for fun," she said. "It's like God is asking you to do it."

When Baha returned to her two jobs, she wore the scarf.

One was a part-time position as a bellhop. The other was a full-time sales job with commissions in The Pearl Factory, a franchise gift shop in the resort that requires employees to follow Disney's dress code, the lawsuit states.

Her supervisors, she said, would not let her continue working either job.

Disney offered to accommodate her religious attire with a "backstage" job out of the public view, the lawsuit states.

The Pearl Factory allowed Baha to continue wearing her scarf but transferred her away from Disney property, where the dress codes didn't apply. Her sales commissions fell from $400 to $700 a week to $40 a week at the new shop in the Old Town tourist attraction on U.S. Highway 192, she said.

She quit the Old Town job because of the drop in pay; Disney fired her from the part-time post because she refused to remove the scarf, according to the lawsuit.

"Plaintiff refused to work without her religious scarf as it is part of her religious beliefs and refused to be humiliated and downgraded by accepting the less favorable position in the backstage," the lawsuit states. "She was therefore terminated."

Baha's lawyer, Frank T. Allen of Orlando, described his client as an ideal employee who had embodied multicultural diversity and tolerance that Disney appears to champion through its worldwide marketing.

"This is totally contradictory to what they're portraying," he said.

What Disney workers wear has been regulated meticulously since Disneyland opened in 1955 to produce what is now marketed as the Disney experience.

"A big part of that show is you, with your quick smile, your eagerness to help and your willingness to maintain the Disney Look that our guests have come to associate with our very special brand," Walt Disney World Resort president Al Weiss wrote in the current employee handbook. "Each of you has helped uphold our heritage in so many ways, such as through your commitment to the Disney Look."

Everything from the socks on their feet to chewing gum, frowning in public and the cut of their hair is spelled out for the theme parks' 70,000 employees. But the resulting beard-free image conflicts with the distinctive religious attire and grooming practices for devout followers of Islam, Judaism and some other religions.

Arab-American groups say discrimination against Muslim women wearing hijabs has soared since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Just this week, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had compelled an Oklahoma school district to permit its female students to wear hijabs in class.

"What is a surprise in this particular case, if these allegations are indeed true, are Walt Disney's response to them," said Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C. "It being such a huge corporation, you would think they would be more sensitive to its employees' needs and diversity."

A sales clerk wearing a religious scarf should not disrupt anyone's Disney experience, according to the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee.

"I'm guessing she's not dressed as Snow White, just wearing the standard Walt Disney uniform," said Leila Al-Qatami, a spokeswoman for the organization. "I don't think it [the hijab] impairs or in any way detracts from a person's experience at Disney World, and so our organization believes that you should make accommodations for religious clothing."

 

[Bill]

Idiots. There aren't any Muslims in the Caribbean. :hammer:

Honestly, you work for Disney, you wear a costume, end of story.

 

[Thrawn]

If I was Disney's lawyer, I would walk in and ask one simple question "Do our Jewish Cast Members get to wear their kippots?" When the answer comes back "no". Case closed, thank you, goodnight.

 

[Bill]

Something else you might not know... wearing the "scarf" is entirely voluntary in Islam.

 

[ArchiDanDisney]

Originally posted by Bill
Idiots. There aren't any Muslims in the Caribbean. :hammer:

Honestly, you work for Disney, you wear a costume, end of story.

Technically she only worked part time for disney. If she is going to sue anyone, it should be the Pearl Factory. She was only a contract employee, and the stands aren't even in the park, those are in downtown disney and the like.

 

[GrumpysGal]

Rules are rules. Dress codes are dress codes. You have a choice to work somewhere. If you don't like their rules, find another job. That's that.

 

[WDW John]

Originally posted by maxime29
She was allowed to wear the scarf at her full-time job, but she quit after being transferred to a location where her sales commissions fell from as much as $700 a week to $40 a week, the lawsuit claims.

She quit, and now she sues over it? I'm sure that the dress code at Disney World was clearly spelled out for her at the beginning of her employment. She had to know that she might be violating the company policy by wearing her scarf.

Management told her that she could not wear it in her current role and offered her another job (that she found less desirable) if she insisted on wearing it. This happens all the time where I work, although in a different way.

Someone gets injured, when they return to work maybe they can no longer perform their old job and they need to be replaced. Next they are offered a job they can perform, but it is usually one that, to them, is not as desirable. That person grudgingly accepts but is no longer as happy as they used to be. But they do what they need to do to stay working, they don't whine about discrimination.

And, she quit.

 

[HennieBogan1966]

I agree with all of you. I'm quite tired of people trying to get a free ride and want to use their "religious" beliefs as reason for violating rules which have been in place since the creation of the company. The double standard in society these days is appalling to me.

Bravo to all of you.

 

[BalooChicago]

Well, I don't know, I think the costume's part of the job, had she been a Character CM would the character need to wear the scarf? Only thing that surprised me, and seems stupid for Disney to do, is the "case by case basis". If it were cut and dry no religious items they would probably have less of a case...

 

[General Grizz]

I concur. I read it this morning, but didn't really want to post it. Incidentally, it showed up on the front page of Yahoo.com.

 

[WDW John]

Originally posted by BalooChicago
Only thing that surprised me, and seems stupid for Disney to do, is the "case by case basis". If it were cut and dry no religious items they would probably have less of a case...

I took 'case by case basis' to mean that they look at each individual case and compare it to the job that that person is doing. Washing the sidewalk after park closing? Wear whatever you want. Attending to guests in the lobby of the Grand Floridian? Stick to your assigned dress code.

 

[artvandelay]

I wonder if Disney offered her a job at Epcot's Morroco pavillion? It would seem like a perfect fit.

 

[sidman656]

Wait, hey.. I see where you all are coming from but isn't this a free country? Don't we have the freedom to be any religion we choose to be? Forcing the woman to take off her veil is just like Saddam Hussein telling women to keep on their veil. It's just not necessary. I'd love to be on Disney's side for this one but I cant see why.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Originally posted by sidman656
Wait, hey.. I see where you all are coming from but isn't this a free country? Don't we have the freedom to be any religion we choose to be? Forcing the woman to take off her veil is just like Saddam Hussein telling women to keep on their veil. It's just not necessary. I'd love to be on Disney's side for this one but I cant see why.

The only reason I can see taking Disney's side in all of this, is that they did offer her another job if she wished to wear the veil. She chose a job that would not allow that to happen. They did give her choices, and she chose the one that didn't support what she wanted.

 

[Bill]

Originally posted by sidman656
Wait, hey.. I see where you all are coming from but isn't this a free country? Don't we have the freedom to be any religion we choose to be? Forcing the woman to take off her veil is just like Saddam Hussein telling women to keep on their veil. It's just not necessary. I'd love to be on Disney's side for this one but I cant see why.

Dude, you have serious issues...

Sorry, but if you work for a company, they have every legal right to tell you what you can and can't wear. If you don't like it, then leave. It's as simple as that. And this woman was given the option do work backstage. She refused. That's her problem. Not Disney's. There's nothing in Muslim that says you have to wear a scarf on your head.

 

[General Grizz]

Disney did not FORCE her to do anything. She originally signed on without scarf under dress codes. When she came back with the scarf, she was offered a BACKSTAGE job because the scarf did not fit with the costume. The Cast Member is supposed to tell a story. . . the role is to be a PERFORMER. This does not impede her right to believe in what she wishes.

 

[Bill]

Bingo. And the fact that the Muslim guy said that it's just a uniform shows how ignorant he is. In Disney, you don't wear a uniform. You're a member of a cast, like in a play, so you're wearing a costume.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Originally posted by Bill
Dude, you have serious issues...

Sorry, but if you work for a company, they have every legal right to tell you what you can and can't wear. If you don't like it, then leave. It's as simple as that. And this woman was given the option do work backstage. She refused. That's her problem. Not Disney's. There's nothing in Muslim that says you have to wear a scarf on your head.

Please try to explain things in a nicer way...there is no reason to say someone has issues when they are just stating what they feel.

Thanks

 

[Tom]

This is a FREE COUNTRY but Disney is a private company.

Everyone on this board should be well aware that Disney doesn't have any employees. They are CAST MEMBERS. Disney employees that are "on-stage" are "actors" in the overall show.

If a Muslim, or whatver, was playing Snow White, OF COURSE she couldn't wear any turbins or forehead dots or anything that Snow White did not wear. Similarly, if she's "playing" the part of a bellhop from a Caribbean Beach Resort, then she needs to wear the exact costume that a bellhop would wear in a real Caribbean Beach Resort.

If she's selling Jewelry, she needs to wear the "costume" that Disney has assigned to the "Jewelery Salesperson."

If Mel Gibson (a Catholic) were hired to play the part of a Jewish man in a movie, you can guarantee that they're not going to let him wear a gold cross & chain around his neck - it would be a Star of David, and maybe other Jewish apparel - period.

She knew the dress code when she hired on, and had NO problem with it. She takes maternity leave, "finds her religion" and then returns to work and expects to be given special treatment because she "changed her mind" on what clothing she likes now - that's BULL! I'm a Catholic, but if I worked for Disney, I would take off my gold chain and cross if my "costume" said, NO JEWELRY! Then I'd put it back on when i went to the locker room. How hard is that? Go work for Universal, AICHA!