CAIR: JCPenney Fires Muslim Woman for Refusing to Remove Head Scarf
CAIR
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Alert #111
1050 17th St., N.W., Suite 490
Washington, D.C., 20036
Tel: 202-659-CAIR (2247)
Fax: 202-659-2254
JCPENNEY STORE FIRES MUSLIM WOMAN FOR REFUSING TO REMOVE HEAD SCARF
WASHINGTON, DC (8/5/96) - CAIR has taken up the case of a Muslim woman
fired by a JCPenney outlet because she refused to remove her
religiously-mandated head scarf. According to the woman, the personnel
manager of JCPenney Tyson's Corner Center, in McLean, Virginia, told
her to "clock out now" when she refused to remove her scarf. The woman
also says that the manager told her: "You have to make a decision
whether you want to keep this job. You have to take off your scarf or
leave."
The personnel manager is reported to have said he took the action based
on J.C. Penney Company, Inc., policy. This "policy" was reiterated in a
meeting between the personnel manager, the store's general manager, the
fired worker, and another Muslim employee. In that meeting, the general
manager allegedly said that if he accommodated the woman's religious
beliefs, he would have to accommodate other faiths. When he said this,
the general manager reportedly made a motion that meeting participants
say indicated a Jewish skullcap, or yarmulke. While the fired worker
was leaving the store, she claims another personnel supervisor asked
her in a mocking tone: "Who told you to wear that (the head scarf)? Did
Mohammad (the Prophet Muhammad) tell you to wear it?"
To date, JCPenney officials have not responded in a fashion dictated by
the seriousness of the woman's complaint. A JCPenney corporate attorney
said the company did not regard the incident as being serious enough to
warrant any action other than offering a new job and back pay.
"This time, we are not going to settle for just getting the lady's job
back. The 'Islamophobia' that leads to these types of cases is
widespread in personnel departments. Corporation managers must learn
they have to take
anti-Muslim discrimination seriously," said CAIR Executive
Director Nihad Awad. Awad added that with more than 200,000
employees and some 20 billion dollars in yearly sales,
JCPenney's reaction to this incident is of great importance.
ACTIONS REQUESTED:
This incident was devastating to the fired worker, and
raises broad implications for American Muslim shoppers and
potential employees. Based on the current law, and on past
cases of this type, CAIR has demanded the following as a
minimum:
1) a written apology to the fired worker,
2) reinstatement in a JCPenney store, in an environment that
would not allow retaliation of any kind,
3) clarification of and/or changes to JCPenney policies re
garding religiously-mandated dress,
4) distribution of these policy changes/clarifications to
all store personnel departments,
5) back wages for the fired worker,
6) reasonable attorney's fees; and
7) monetary compensation for emotional distress.
Contact JCPenney by phone, fax, letter or email to protest
the store managers' actions and the inaction of corporate
representatives. Tell them they are violating their own
"diversity" mission statement: "Each of us is a
one-of-a-kind combination of physical characteristics,
personality, gender, race, religion, skills, and ethnic and
cultural background...JCPenney values diversity, respecting
individual differences and appreciating the advantages our
diversity offers." (downloaded from JCPenney's home page:
http://www.jcpenney.com)
1) CONTACT:
W.B. Tygart
President and CEO
J.C. Penney Company, Inc.
6501 Legacy Drive
Plano, TX, 75024-3698
TEL: 214-431-1000
FAX: 214-431-1962
Customer Relations (Ms. Jane Cooper) EMAIL:
jco...@jcpenney.com
2) REPORT any other anti-Muslim incidents that have occurred
at JCPenney. We have already heard of Muslim customers
receiving rude or hostile treatment.
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