Discriminatory Practices of Abercrombie and Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), an American retailer that concentrates on upscale casual wear for young consumers, which was founded in Manhattan, New York City in June 4, 1892 by two young minds of David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch. Beginning with a rough journey of selling sporting outfits and excursion goods such as fishing and hunting equipment, A&F had to file bankruptcy in 1977. Soon thereafter, the company was revived after Jake Oshman, owner of Oshman Sporting Goods, bought A&F in 1978. A&F was relaunched as a mail-retailer company specializing in hunting wear and novelty items, but was bought by The Limited ten years after its revival. The gradual shift to focusing on apparels for young consumers began when A&F was a subsidiary of Limited Brands, and since then, A&F has grown to become one of the largest apparel firms in the United States. In 1998, A&F launched Abercrombie Kids, targeting consumers from age 7-14, which further increases its revenue. In 1999 to early 2000s, A&F’s sales skyrocketed as it hit its zenith, by portraying A&F clothing as the “coolest thing” through billboard-winning song that compliments A&F in the lyrics, as well as other advertisements. Furthermore, A&F launched a subsidiary called Hollister to tackle similar age group of target audience but with lower income. This expansion to dominate the market of teenagers through consideration of other demographic factor, namely income, was exceptional for A&F’s revenue. Presently, A&F focused on

On February the 25th ,2015, the supreme court remanded the EEOC v. Abercrombie and Fitch Stores, Inc case, as the Supreme Court of the United States website states it. In fact, the case opposed the EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on behalf of Samantha Elauf, against a company named Abercrombie and Fitch Stores. In fact, Mrs. Elauf was denied a job due to religious practices as the A&F company considered that her look goes against the company policies.

Do an Internet search to find a definition for equal opportunity (include your source). Please do not use only google.com as a source, look for another source.

Abercrombie & Fitch stores designs it retail stores from a multi-sensory point of view to get consumer’s to buy there products. Abercrombie & Fitch stores typically is known for its dim lighting, loud background music, and it ambient scents to enable a more youthful clientele and a fresher image. In the store, there are mannequins for both genders that usually runs from the storefront through the middle of the store, which showcases key trends and ideas for the current season. Also, there collections are merchandised to inspire the customer and showcase how pieces can be mixed together.

The company Abercrombie and Fitch has been sued countless times because of the rules the government has imposed on hiring and firing people. Abercrombie is trying to target attractive looking people to their line of cloths. During an interview Salon Jeffries the CEO of Abercrombie stated… his business was built around sex appeal… “He believes that good-looking people attract other good-looking people”… If a clothing line

Abercrombie is a national chain of clothing stores that makes their employees where certain clothing that complies with their “Look Policy”. Their look policy doesn’t allow employees to wear black clothes and caps. Caps aren’t defined in this “Look Policy”, so if a question comes up in the interview, the interviewer is supposed to contact human resources to see if the head scarf will be accommodated.

Procedural History: The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) sued Abercrombie on the behalf of Elauf, claiming that Abercrombie’s

This policy is in accordance with various codes of practice and relevant legislation, which includes the equal pay act, the sex discrimination act, the disability discrimination act. Equality of Opportunity’s main principle is that everyone has an equal chance in society of reaching their full potential. Under this principle is to ensure as far as possible all individuals will obtain an equal share of society’s benefits, wealth, power, income, housing etc.

The case EEOC. V. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, went all the way to the Supreme Court. The vote in the Supreme Court was 8 to1. It seemed that it was an easy decision for the judges. They did send it back to the lower courts. It went back and forth between courts but at the end the EEOC and Ms. Elauf won. Justice Scalia that over saw the case wrote” Ms. Elauf did not make a specific request for a religious accommodation to obtain relief under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” (Liptak)

Equal opportunities – Approach should be ethical and legitimate by ensuring discrimination does not occur. For example, all candidates should receive the same treatment and the process structured the same way for each candidate.

This is a difficult question. Was changing their entire market strategy and including a new mission statement merely a rouse to increase profits after an embarrassing lawsuit or truly a desire to earnestly promote diversity? We can only speculate on this. However, the cold facts are that 50% of Abercrombie’s store associates are people of color, 75% of their Executive Vice Presidents are female, they have been listed for ten consecutive years as one of the best places to work for LGBT employees, and they have donated over $110,000 in diversity scholarships. In addition, their new catalogues are incredibly diverse and no longer adhere to one body type or racial profile. So, regardless of their motive, Abercrombie has definitely taken huge precautions

Despite the fact that the Equal Pay Act has been law since 1963, many problems inevitably arise in the administration of equal pay laws (Fisher). It has been estimated that at this current slow rate of progression in closing the gender pay gap it will be 2068 by the time men and women’s wages are equalized. It is clear that the business case, as well as the legislative case, has a significant role to play (Commission Policy Report).

Equal opportunities are very important in the modern workplace. Providing equal opportunities involves providing the same opportunities to all the employees and prospective employees regardless of their sex, age, disabilities, ethnic origins, sexual orientations etc. Equal opportunities allow the employee to have rights therefore the employer is unable to take advantage, discriminate or manipulate staff. Employers have an element of power over their employees but by having the law on the side of the employees, employers therefore need to think twice before discriminating in any form. Organisations will need to ensure that there is no unlawful or unfair discrimination. Employees are not stupid – a company that behaves badly

Jefferies was successful in his pursuit and as a result, his exclusionary sentiment permeated the workplace culture of the organization at every level; from the sprawling 300-acre headquarters in the woods of Ohio to each individual retail outlet. At the heart of this culture was the “Looks Policy”, an unforgiving guide to how employees should present themselves at work. This policy governed every aspect of an employee’s appearance from the number of times they rolled the cuffs of their jeans to the tone of their skin, which was preferably ‘sun kissed’. Not only did this policy contribute to a negative work environment where employees felt they were constantly being evaluated on the basis of their physical attributes alone, but it also led to human rights violations wherein job applicants were denied employment on the basis of their race and/or religion. In a 2004 class action lawsuit filed against the retail giant, several thousands of former A&F employees alleged the company discriminated against African-Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans in its hiring practices as well as its advertisements. The claimants also purported that non-white employees were frequently relegated to the back-of-store tasks where they would not be visible to store patrons. A&F settled the lawsuit out of

Abercrombie and Fitch, founded in 1892, is an American clothing company that targets young customers. It is headquartered in New Albany, Ohio, and has over 250 locations in the United States and is expanding internationally. Abercrombie and Fitch is a reputable apparel and lifestyle brand. However, in the past few years, the company’s image has been battered by accusations of discrimination toward minority groups. In this report, I will describe and analyze Abercrombie and Fitch’s current CSR policies and activities, and provide recommendations to improve the company’s brand image. I will focus on the four main social responsibilities that A&F highlights, which are environmental sustainability, diversity and human rights in the employment and its independent contractors, customer care, and the community.