tshirts Blog and Journals

In 2004, Abercrombie got slammed with a lawsuit for just that… Their “pretty” salespeople that is, not their poor customer service. Defendant Jennifer Lu, a student at the University of California (Go Bears!) and a former A&F employee had something to say about what she alleged was its discriminatory policies. Incidentally, if you didn’t figure out the gist of the complaint from her last name, then read on… “[Abercrombie & Fitch is] dominated by Caucasian , football-looking, blonde-hair, blue-eyed males; skinny, tall,” Lu accurately reported. “You don’t see any African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and that’s the image that they’re portraying and that they’re looking for.” Being neither Caucasian, football-looking, blonde-haired nor blue-eyed, Lu said that when corporate officials visited, they did everything but blatantly tell management to get rid of her. Pointing to one of their posters, which featured none other than their version of a star employee, the executives said that the store needed “to have more staff that looks like this.” Result: Lu was shown the door. Since she wasn’t the only one, former disgruntled employees banded together to sue the establishment, pointing out that “All-American doesn’t mean all-white.” Sure, defenders agreed, but Abercrombie should be allowed to conduct business the way they best see fit one way or the other. In the end, that class action suit was settled for $50 million, with the famous moose brand agreeing to adhere to a more diverse standard when hiring. So they went around trying to hire as many attractive Asians, Latinos and African-Americans they could find - or at least as many as they thought would appease their critics - and went back to business as usual. In other words, it remained the same vapid cookie-cutter business it had started out as. As evidenced by the latest lawsuit it’s facing. Riam Dean has a prosthetic arm that attaches at the elbow, and she typically wears a sweater to cover the prosthetic. While A&F employees are required to wear jeans and a polo shirt, she was given permission to wear a white cardigan while working on the floor. But only a few days after she started work, the store was paid a visit by the “visual team.” This group’s purpose is to sure the shop and its staff look up to code. One of the members of the team demanded she take off the cardigan, but she insisted she had permission to wear it. Nevertheless, she was asked by management to continue her employment in the stockroom, far out of the public eye. Management claimed that she “violated the ‘Look Policy,” which is an imperative part of working for such a prestigious clothing outlet. As if she could help the fact that she is, unfortunately, missing an arm. Totally her fault, I suppose. The nerve. Pssh. Riam sucked it up and commenced her stockroom duties, normally reserved for the “underlings” (i.e., ethnic minorities) of Abercrombie & Fitch “society” and received a telephone call at home a few days later, asking if she would continue on board with the company’s stockroom until their winter uniforms came in, which consisted of long-sleeved tops. She quit on the spot. Riam, who was born without a forearm, has utilized a prosthetic appendage for as long as she can remember. However, she never let her physical handicap become just that - a handicap. Dean is currently a student at Queen Mary University, located in London, and is pursuing a barrister’s degree. A&F has never been a stranger to discrimination suits; one was recently settled in the US for discrimination during the hiring process in that they would allegedly only hire “young and beautiful” men and women to work in their stores. I am not one of those sue-crazy citizens. I think that a lot of the lawsuits nowadays are setups. A lot of people abuse the legal system and look for loopholes to sue over practically everything. I have a family member quite like that and it drives me up the frigging wall. Yet, I hope Riam gets every penny. I hope she triple-sues. I hope after the suit goes through, she receives her requested money and additional funds for pain and suffering. The embarrassment at her treatment by Abercrombie and fitch must be immense.