Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores
Argued February 25, 2015
Decided June 1, 2015
Full case nameEqual Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc.
Docket no.14-86
Citations575 U.S. 768 (more)
135 S. Ct. 2028; 192 L. Ed. 2d 35
Case history
Prior798 F. Supp. 2d 1272 (N.D. Okla. 2011); reversed, 731 F.3d 1106 (10th Cir. 2013); cert. granted, 135 S. Ct. 44 (2014).
Holding
To prevail in a Title VII disparate-treatment claim, an applicant need show only that their need for an accommodation was a motivating factor in the employer's decision, not that the employer had knowledge of their need.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Case opinions
MajorityScalia, joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
ConcurrenceAlito (in judgment)
Concur/dissentThomas
Laws applied
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, 575 U.S. 768 (2015), was a United States Supreme Court case regarding a Muslim American woman, Samantha Elauf, who was refused a job at Abercrombie & Fitch in 2008 because she wore a headscarf, which conflicted with the company's dress code. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 8–1 in Elauf's favor on June 1, 2015.