Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), a leading American clothing retailer with over 300 stores in the US is in the hot seat as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has launched employment discrimination lawsuits against it.

Earlier this September, a store of A&F in Milpitas was sued by the EEOC when they refused to hire a female applicant because she was wearing a hijab or a muslim head scarf.

Barely a month after, A&F is once again facing legal action, this time, in San Diego. Allegedly, a former employee Abdul Jabbar Gbajiamilla, was fired for his “cornrows”. Cornrows refer to a traditional West African style of hair grooming where the hair is braided close to the scalp.

In his suit, Gbajiamilla claimed that he was told that his hair style did not fit the company criteria’s for a “clean, natural, and classic” hair style.

Further, a testimony from an Abercrombie’s human resources director in a related proceeding proved Gbajiamilla’s allegation as the director admitted that the hair style doesn’t meet the clean, natural and classic threshold and that the corn rows were “extreme” and “uncommon”.

According to Gbajiamilla, he filed the discrimination lawsuit because he believed that he shouldn’t conceal or tone down his identity as a black person. Gbajiamilla was quoted to have said, “I brought this lawsuit because I believe the United States has come too far in regards to racial tolerance to now retreat.”

The Ohio clothing company is certainly no stranger to discrimination lawsuits filed by employees. In fact, in 2005, the company entered into a racial discrimination settlement — Abercrombie & Fitch’s has an existing employee dress code that bans head coverings. Previously, the company has denied discrimination charges and said that their policies were only to avoid undue hardship for the company’s business.

While it is true that an employer may forego or not grant reasonable accommodation if it is proven that it would cause undue hardship to business, how an employee wears his hair or even a hijab has no direct relation to how he performs his work and why it would even affect the business.

Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal laws, it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees or applicants on the basis of their race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.