Worker Sues Disney Over Headscarf Ban

Worker told she can't wear headscarf in front of customers
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 19, 2010 9:12 AM CDT
Worker Sues Disney Over Headscarf Ban
Imane Boudlal, center, a Muslim woman who works as a hostess at a Disneyland restaurant, is joined by her supporters during a news conference in Anaheim, Calif.    (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Hats—and presumably mouse ears—are fine, but Disneyland workers aren't allowed to wear religious head coverings. A Muslim woman who works as a hostess in a Disney-owned restaurant has filed a discrimination lawsuit after she was barred from wearing a headscarf at work four times this week because bosses say it doesn't go with the "Disney Look," the Los Angeles Times reports.

Imane Boudlal, who has worked at the Chip 'n' Dale-themed restaurant for two years, says Disney told her she could work in a backstage role if she wanted to wear a headscarf, an offer she rejected. Her lawyer, from the Council on Muslim-American Relations, says Disney should "take a ride on one of your own rides—a little thing called 'It's a Small World.'" The company says it's seeing what it can do to accommodate Boudlal.
(More Disneyland stories.)

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