Abercrombie & Fitch Discriminated Against Teen With Autism, Judge Says

A Minnesota Abercrombie & Fitch store violated the rights of a 14-year-old girl with autism when staffers disallowed the teen’s sister from helping her in a dressing room, a judge says.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights sued Abercrombie & Fitch on behalf of the teen after the August 2005 incident. The teen’s sister was not allowed to help her in the dressing room even after explaining to store employees that her sister had a disability.

The employees said they could only allow one person in each dressing room at a time to reduce the risk of shoplifting. But when the teen’s mom requested the policy from the store and the retailer’s corporate office, she was not able to obtain a copy.

Now a judge has ruled in favor of the girl, saying that Abercrombie & Fitch did not afford her reasonable accommodation and violated its own policies.

The retailer must now pay over $155,000 including $25,000 to the teen. Furthermore, the judge ordered the retailer to alter its policies on serving customers with disabilities, retrain employees accordingly and post its dressing room policy publicly.

Abercrombie & Fitch plans to appeal the decision, reports KAAL TV, the Austin, Minn. ABC affiliate. To read more click here.