Abercrombie's "Look Policy" Under Fire

Former British Employee With Prosthetic Arm Sues Retailer For Alleged Discrimination

(AP)  A British student who worked for U.S. retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. in London said Wednesday she was discriminated against because she has a prosthetic arm.

Riam Dean is seeking up to 25,000 pounds ($41,000) in damages at an employment tribunal.

Dean, a 22-year-old law student at the University of London, told the tribunal she worked at Abercrombie's store on London's posh Saville Row and had been given permission to wear a sweater to cover her prosthetic arm.

After a few days Dean said she was told she was breaking the company's "look policy" and was asked to work in the stockroom.

Dean said the company gave new employees a thick guidebook dictating everything from how employees should wear their hair to the length of their fingernails.

"I have worn a prosthetic arm since I was 3 years old," she said. "It was part of me, not a cosmetic."

Abercrombie & Fitch said in a statement it "has a strong anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy." It said Dean's account of what happened was inaccurate.

The New Albany, Ohio-based company is known for its edgy advertisements and shops with nightclub atmosphere. It has faced criticism in the past by those who claim it deliberately selects young, good-looking people to work in its stores.

In 2004 it spent $50 million to settle a number of employment discrimination lawsuits in the United States.

The hearing began Wednesday and is expected to last for three days.

[barbaram99]

I went on their site to see what their image is. I am appalled. All white abled bodied persons. The stuff they sell I would be barred from wearing it. I am on her side. They would force her to work where others can't see her. She did not asked to be born missing her arm. I read the story on the BBC site. It was that bloody dress code that needs changing. She wanted to cover her arms. Yet that was not allowed. Their image is poor. The fact of the matter is they demand a unbendable dress code. One they need to change or before they hire thell them. Yet they have a problem with a cardigan that a sp needs girl wore on her job. I can underdtand the need to be neatly dressed. They need to hire robots if they are that fussy.

[barbaram99]

They gave her a job knowing full well of her sp needs. Miss Dean I **** ye win alot. I am on yer side. I am aware that businesses have a dress code. But it is out of line when very dress code favours the abled bodied. She be allowed to wear clothes that cover her person. I hope she gets over 25,000 pounds. Hang in there dear. I am a legally blind person with C/P. I can understand her wanting to cover her arms. I had to wear braces as child and there was no way I was going to wear skirt. I did not. It wrong of a company to force them to buy their clothes and wear them. i am just a lay person here. It is just as wrong to have a sp needs person working there and force him/her to wear clothes that dhow off their person in a way they are uncomfortable. I am 54 and in Seattle, Good Luck and hope ye win.

[barbaram99]

They gave her a job knowing full well of her sp needs. Miss Dean I **** ye win alot. I am on yer side. I am aware that businesses have a dress code. But it is out of line when very dress code favours the abled bodied. She be allowed to wear clothes that cover her person. I hope she gets over 25,000 pounds. Hang in there dear. I am a legally blind person with C/P. I can understand her wanting to cover her arms. I had to wear braces as child and there was no way I was going to wear skirt. I did not. It wrong of a company to force them to buy their clothes and wear them. i am just a lay person here. It is just as wrong to have a sp needs person working there and force him/her to wear clothes that dhow off their person in a way they are uncomfortable. I am 54 and in Seattle, Good Luck and hope ye win.

[dakworks]

I dated a girl who was a "selector" for Abercrombie, she told me she would comb the high schools and Malls for specific good looking people to hire to work in their stores. She was pretty snobbish(yet very attractive) and I could totally see her forcing an amputee to work in the stock room.

[koko98-2009]

What a shame that the compary that supplied Teddy Roosevelt and Ernest Hemmingway should become a symbol of the sleezy 21st century. I hope they get the shorts sued off them.

[whatsup49]

she should get a lot more than 441,000. i hate that store.

[sassalin31]

I hope she gets every dime and then some.