Clothing Chain Accused of Discrimination
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
Published: June 17, 2003
Abercrombie & Fitch , the clothing retailer that appeals to the college set with blond-haired, blue-eyed models, was sued yesterday for racial discrimination, accused of favoring whites for its sales floor jobs.
The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in San Francisco, charges that Abercrombie discriminates against Hispanics, Asians and blacks in its hiring as it seeks to project what the company calls the "classic American" look.
Abercrombie, whose upscale casual clothes have made it one of the hottest companies for teenagers and college students, is accused of favoring whites by concentrating its hiring on certain colleges, fraternities and sororities.
Several Hispanic and Asian plaintiffs said in interviews that when they applied for jobs, store managers steered them to stockroom jobs and away from the sales floor because they did not project what the company called the "A & F look." That look, these plaintiffs said, is overwhelmingly white, judging from the low percentage of minority members who work on the sales floor and from the company's posters and quarterly magazine, which overwhelmingly featured white models.
In an affidavit, a former assistant manager of the Abercrombie store in Faneuil Hall in Boston said that of the 110 employees there, two or three were black, one was Hispanic and the other 106 were white.
"It's quite clear that they go to great pains to make sure all of their managers and assistant managers know what they're looking for and what those managers will be judged on: does your work force fit our all-white image?" said Thomas A. Saenz, vice president for litigation at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
A spokesman for Abercrombie, which is based in New Albany, Ohio, said yesterday that the company would not comment because it had not yet seen the legal papers.
In a guidebook distributed to employees, the "Abercrombie Look Book," the company states: "America is diverse, and we want diversity in our stores. We do not discriminate, and will not tolerate discrimination in hiring based on race, national origin, religion, color, sex, age or disability."
Abercrombie, which outfitted Theodore Roosevelt and Ernest Hemingway, was founded in 1892 as a supplier of rugged gear. It filed for bankruptcy in 1977, and its name was sold to Oshman Sporting Goods in 1979 and was resold in 1989 to The Limited. That company revived the brand name with clothes focusing on a youthful lifestyle. In 1996, The Limited spun off Abercrombie, which has about 600 stores and 22,000 employees.
Several plaintiffs said that top managers often visited stores and examined pictures of employees to determine whether they conformed with the Abercrombie & Fitch look. Often, the legal papers say, store managers approach attractive white customers who have the "look" and urge them to apply for sales jobs.
Jennifer Lu said she and four other Asian sales clerks had been fired from an Abercrombie store in Costa Mesa, Calif., after a top corporate official visited last February and told the store's managers there were too many Asian sales clerks. Soon after, she said, six whites were hired to replace them.
"I thought the nation was beyond this type of thing after all these years of civil rights," said Ms. Lu, a senior at the University of California at Irvine. "If Asian people knew that they were doing this, they'd be outraged."
Juancarlos Gomez-Montejano, who worked in sales at an Abercrombie in Santa Monica, said that after a corporate official visited his store, he and four other minority sales workers were terminated, told that the staff was too large. A few weeks later, he said, the store hired five white fraternity members from U.C.L.A.
"It disgusted me because my family name has been on this continent for centuries, and they have the audacity to say I'm not American enough," Mr. Gomez-Montejano said.
He complained to the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, which filed the lawsuit along with the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein.
In a case involving Mr. Gomez-Montejano, the Los Angeles office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concluded in 2001 that at Abercrombie, "Latinos and blacks, as a class, were denied permanent positions, denied assignments and treated in an unfair manner with regard to recruitment based on their race."
The lawyers are asking for an unspecified amount in back wages and punitive damages, an order putting plaintiffs in their rightful jobs and an injunction ordering the company to end unlawful practices.
"For most of them this is their first job, and the lesson that Abercrombie has taught them is that workplace discrimination continues to exist," said Bill Lann Lee, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs and former director of the Justice Department's civil rights division. "This is a reminder that when you look under a rock, sometimes you find something pretty awful."
The lawyers want the lawsuit to be a class action that will cover both past and future workers and job applicants at Abercrombie.
Eduardo Gonzalez, a junior at Stanford University, said that when he applied last August to the Abercrombie store in Santa Clara, Calif., a manager said he should apply for the stock room or an overnight position.
"It was like, wow, they're pushing me to the only nonvisible jobs, they don't want me to be seen in public," Mr. Gonzalez said. "And it was weird: all the store's posters were white, blond-haired, blue-eyed."
Soon after, a nearby Banana Republic hired him.
"If you look at a store like Banana Republic," Mr. Gonzalez said, "there's a huge difference. Banana Republic has almost all minorities working there."
Seniors,
Based on our unit of Appearance and Discrimination, in what ways does the Abercrombie & Fitch case affect society today? How does that affect you?
These cases verse Abercrombie & Fitch has and will affect the non-white, non-blue eyed, non-blonde haired society. Since we don’t have the qualities of the “Natural America Style” there’s a slim to none chance that we’ll be able to become an A& F employee. I believe that it’s fine to hire people that project the company’s image, but A& F crossed the line. They not only discriminated against looks, but also race, national origin, religion, color, sex, age, and disability.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Wells
Abercrombie and Fitch hurts people mentally and physically.By Abercrombie pushing other people who dont fit that image. They are treating them like slave accept they are working for money and not getting beat like my ancestors.Abercrombie is not helping all minorities like other companies such as Banana Republic.I dont see why people apply for Jobs at Abercrombie if they are looking for that certain image...If Abercrombie is being discrminative toward your race, age , sex, disability or etc...WHy try to work for a company that is putting you through self esteem issues and other things. Abercrombie seem discrmintive and their clothing is very expensive. SO why would I Buy a sweater that says BAercrombie when i can got to aerospostale, Hollister and etc where is half the price of stuff. My opinion is Abercrombie is dumb because you hiring off of looks will get you nowhere but hott people and issues. HOw are you going to hire a model who is as dumb as a elephant? Abercrombie looks for walking billboard while other companies look for people with experience. Abercrombie isnt worth my time and its discrimination so why sit theie and let somebody tell me basically i didnt geta job because i am not a size 3 or 0 not worth my time or any other person
ReplyDeleteDa'Neane BEll
This lawsuit against Abercrombie and Fitch is really sad. When will these companies realize that discriminating someone based on age, sex, gender, and religion is wrong. I understand that every company has to do what they can to keep their business running, but what A&F is doing is hurting people mentally and physically. A&F only searches for a specific group of people that fit the American look, White,blond,blue-eyed. Being turned down a job because your not pretty enough or tall enough or if your not white is wrong. These companies should be focus on trying to give there stores a good name, like hiring people that can actually sell and get the job done. I understand that its OK to hire someone that looks the part, but its not OK to discriminate them based off of who they are.
ReplyDeleteWell, I dont agree with discrimination, but at the same time the A&F lawsuit should not be called discrimination against someone. Due to the simple act they set out a certain look for their store, because they feel as if the know what is attractive for their store and they also know what looks good on certain people. You wouldnt see your average everyday person working at Hot Topic. So would that be considered discrimination too? Of course you would say no to that because every store has their set look to what brings buyers to the stores and retailers making their money.
ReplyDeleteIn order to keep health business running you have to think about yourself and what you would want to see in the stores and what will keep you running back and forth to the store.. So every thing is not discrimination just because a store denies your application dosnt mean that they are against you
I feel every company should have the right to project their own image. Therefore, when A&F only hire's people that project their image it is not discrimination, it is more so a marketing strategy. It's all about money. But i believe that A&F should re-invent their image and make it more enticing to the community. Every companies mission is to attract more customers, therefore if they hire more minorities to represent the store, it will increase their clientele. That way, everyone is happy. The company is making more money, and the minorities will not feel like they are being discriminated against.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel that on most levels discrimination is unfair. I also feel that discrimination will not cease to exist, so why would you put yourself in a situation where discrimination will most likely occur. In my eyes that just isnt smart. If a company wants to portray a certain image that you dont fit why would you continue to apply to the job? People say it is unfair for companies to discriminate but would'nt it be unfair for someone to tell you how to run your buisness? I feel that Ambercrombie and Fitch has the right to hire who they choose in order to portray whatever image they want. On top of that you must consider the level of importance of the company. This is a clothing company. Im sure that discrimination does not occur like this in upscale companies that actually make a difference and impact the world.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this is a horrible thing for upscale stores to do. Discrimination has been one of the biggest problems and all of the history of America. Many can believe that rasisim is a concept that is far behind us, having Obama as our president. But discrimination in upscale stores is a real eye opener and a shame. When companies do such things it is a complete step back for us all as a people. If they want to be a real American store they would place so many different types of people in their stores because that is truly all America is one huge melting pot. MATTHEW BROWN
ReplyDeleteThis affects me because I don't think that its fair. Everyone should have an equal opportunity at getting the job. Even though the clothing stores will continue to hire based on looks, that doesn't make it right. After being sued once again that shouldve opened their eyes to see that they needed to make a change. Discrimination is unfair and isnt tolerated. If i were to walk in to A&F and I desperately needed a job and I wasnt hired based off of my race. I would cause hell in that store, and they would think twice about not hiring me when I asked. I dont understand companies now a days. Everyone doesnt fit there "perfect image" so I think they should start making some exceptions so it wont seem like they are discriminating. Jasmine Thompson
ReplyDeleteThis affects me because there is a possibility that corporate discriminating can happen to any of us. I personally believe that If a company wants a certain image they should weave out the applicants they don't want, and keep the ones they need to help their image. Overall I know i got off topic but, this can affect us positively or negatively depending on if WE fit their image if we apply to work at a store.
ReplyDeleteThis will open Americas' eyes. People believe that racism is over since we have African American President. However in reality, it was just a way to cover up the harsh racism. I dont believe companies when they say they only hire certain people to project the image. I believe they do it because they feel that whites only have the money or the power..and espically the only ones to afford these clothes. However the sad part is African American still buy from these places that see them as "too black". This is like buying fast food when you know its killing you. However, Abercrombie and Fitch tactics of how to hire people does not surprise me because this discrimination against people have been going on for ever and probably going to keep going. Nevertheless, its up to us to make a stand and stop all of this nonsence, by stop buying these clothes and putting money in "the mans'" hand.
ReplyDeleteI understand that companies want to project their own image, but why are they taking it to a level were it is being considered as discrimination. Why do you have to have that "Perfect Image"? This is not a modeling industry. Me personally, I don't intentially walk into a store and look for the staff, I go there because I like the clothes they provide. I do not believe you will loose customers over that. I just do not understand why you have to discriminate on peoples race, gender, sex, beauty, and age. By them being sued they should widen there outlook on the different kinds of people who apply for there companies and give them a chance.Theres a possibility where i may be in that same predicament, and that would affect me. Discrimination is not something we want to keep around, its a ugly thing.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion it is ok to want the best for your company and hire people you believe presents the best image you are trying to get across. But it is never ok to discriminate on people base on age, gender, religion etc. In the case against A&F they deserved it because they were being discriminatory towarsds applicants who needed a job or even forced to work in the back so they would never be seen. Then you have the whites or people who they say have "the look" who they would hire on the spot because they believe they would enhance there company. It is wrong and people who commit this act of discrimination towards people should be punished until they realize that everybody is created equal.
ReplyDeleteAbercrombie & Fitch is wrong for discriminating their employees based on age, gender, disability and religion. I do not like their image of how American Teens should look. It affects me lot because I can not work there because I'm not a blond-hair, blue-eyes, sorority woman. That's not the "American look". (Tyler Nunley period 2)
ReplyDeleteYes it’s not right that minorities were getting fired from Abercrombie and Fitch after a top manager visited but I do think they are justified in picking out who they want to hire because its there company. These cases about Abercrombie is bringing to light that discrimination in the job world does still exist. I feel that it’s not right and i wouldn’t do it but in the end its there company and they can do what they like.
ReplyDelete(Kadija Wilson)
I don't think that companies should hire people based on image. It is not right and not fair on the same time.These articles show that job discrimination in still prevalent in the United States today. I feel that it's not right and not fair and people should realize what is going on and make a difference. The white look is blonde hair and blue eyes.
ReplyDeleteGordon Porter
I believe this exposure will open the eyes of many people.This articles tells how discrimination still exist in the world today. Discrimation of any kind whether it is image,age,sex,religion, or race is wrong. There are many incompent workers who are hired only because they project the company's image. This not only denies workers with experience the right to a job, this also gives discrimination a place to live. Too many retailers try to justify their policy about hiring about image, giving me the feeling that they feel bad about their policy. The story of Eduardo Gonzalez hit me the hardest because I too am a miniority. He applied for a job at Abercrombie&Fitch and was told he should work in the stock room or an overnight position. I felt the same thing could happen to me and this form of discrimination is wrong. He was pushed to the back where no one could see him because he didn't fit the "Classic American Look". This affects me because I don't fit that look either and I would not be given a fair chance at a job because the way I look. This also affect's society because the perception about expensive retail stores. Now we all know that discrimation in the work force still exist and we just have to be mindful and aware.
ReplyDelete-Angel Smith
The Abercrombie and Fitch case shows how closed minded companies can be in order to just project a certain image. Companies can be diverse and still make a profit. This may affect me when looking for a job and I don't project that "blond-haired, blue-eyed model" type employers are looking for.
ReplyDeleteThe Abercrombie & Fitch case affects society in a huge way. The more people are informed about the issue the more self conscious they will become about getting a job. I understand a pretty face lures more customers but they can also have the ideal framework for that position. I personally love Abercrombie & Fitch, but now I will think twice before I shop there.
ReplyDeleteI think that Abercrombie and Fitch does affect society today. It affects our society because it informs us that racism exists even though it may not exist in such extreme forces that it used to. It shows us that even though we've came a long way with the problem of racism, we still have a lot more work to do in order to achieve equality. This makes me feel a little uneasy because with this problem going on, this means that I can be discriminated against in applying for a job which is highly unfair.
ReplyDeleteAmercrombie & Fitch case affects society in a loarge way. It derives people with the right to work at the stores a position just because they dont have the look. It causes people to be hurt by the thought that they are not pretty or handsome, and destroy self esteem. Personally, I feel that its not fair, they are basicly telling me that no matter how hard I work and no matter my skills as a salesmen, it doesnt count. It also says that my looks are everything and how I look determines my worth. That alone can scare a human and give them the mind set that they do not look good enough to were they cant even get a job. This can hurt the company, it causes them to lose good help and also pushes people away from their products. Nicholas Brown
ReplyDeleteThe ways that the Abercrombie and Fitch case affect's society today buy many store companies are also trying to project and image for the community. Nowadays companies don't care if someone has the work experience in the business, the only thing they care about is the way someone looks. This also affects society because its discriminating against ones appearance. This affects me by it makes me feel as if I should'nt shop in their stores. Because one the only hire good looking people so their store can earn more profit. I feel as if that is wrong, and the line should be drawn to a certain extent.
ReplyDeleteThis case is a major impact in our society. The affect of this case has cause our people to be more informed into the habits of business hiring its employee based on there looks than by their experience in retailing. It is already hard enough trying to find a job in our society today with the economy we live in, but when we hire people only because of their looks, then it is time to take rise up speak about this in a federal court.
ReplyDeletethe way that Abercrombie and Fitch rules are unfair. I think trying to convey a certain image is not wrong if retailers are not disriminating against anyone. if one wants to get a job at A and F, then they should be able to no matter what their looks are, it should be based on their merit and experience. A and F knows that their standards are kind of ridiculous because if they didnt, then they would not have to justify why they are setting their rules the way they are. portraying a certain image is one thing, but when retailers and owners start to say "you can't work here because of your looks or religion", then that is discriminating.
ReplyDeleteThe case affects society for the better because now society can be more aware of the wrongdoings this company commits in terms of hiring. I don't believe people should support and buy products from a company that wont hire them for wrongful reasons. This case also brings attention to the fact that there is still discrimination in the business world. This just affects my opinion on the store. From now on, i will definitely think twice before i shop there or even try to apply for a job there.
ReplyDelete-Jaja Bakari
I believe that this affects me and society as a whole, because very soon when I begin college I will need a college, and although I wouldn't work at Abercrombie & Fitch personally, to know that I probably wont have a chance working their anyways. I believe that everyone should have an opportunity to work anywhere they want if they are qualified mentally. Looks has nothing to do with someones personal job performance. Abercrombie is attempting to potrait an image that is very scarce, not many people look like the image they are trying to project. They do have a right to have a certain look for their company but I believe that their demands are far too outrageous.
ReplyDeleteI think that this affects todays society. It affects people because they well feel thhat they cant get a job because of whhat they look like. Since Abercrombie and Fitch are trying to potrait an image they are disriminating other people who dont fit there image. Everybody cant look a certain way so thats not fair for companies not to allow people of a certain look to work.
ReplyDeletei ont think that it is okay for the company to criticize people real identies to be something their not. desperate people can slowly pulled into their trap, while the comapnies pursuades them what image really bakes the cake. in reality this false staement is not true. everyone was born to look different in all aspects. so therefore the comanpies should not base their fasle accuations for this one and only image.~ shante'
ReplyDeleteThe people who are being affected are those who dont fit that criteria such as being white, or what religion they are. Its one thing to be focused of projecting an image for your business but no to the extent to where your risking discrimition. Look are not everything whats most important is ones merit.
ReplyDeleteIt is not okay for A&'d F retailers to discriminate on those who can actually get the job done. They look at someone who is projecting the image that they are looking for. Someone can want that job so bad and the retailers are looking at the wrong people. Today it affects the society because many desperate people need the job and employee's at A&'F are looking at who they are as a person. Deep down inside a person can be someone who can get the job done way better than others. It is not right for workers to look at a person's outer image than their inner image because they dont quite know who that person is.
ReplyDeleteAbercrombie and Fitch's case affect society today because, their are still retail shops out their in the world that discriminate against people who don't fit the image their lookin for. If someone needed a job really badly but they couldn't get the job because they were too tall or short or fat or ugly or their eyes were too slanted or cross-eyed, nose too long, ears too pointy like an elf's, feet too big, one short arm and one long arm, one long leg and one short leg, or just plain looked like a freak of nature, then that's discrimination and it's unfair and it sucks. This discrimination needs to end because no one is perfect and also because it affects everyone's chances of getting a job they might enjoy.
ReplyDelete