UK woman with prosthetic arm wins Abercrombie suit

Source: CBC

A British law student with a prosthetic arm has won her suit for wrongful dismissal against her former employer, U.S. clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, after she was ordered to work in the stockroom.

Riam Dean says she was removed from the sales floor of an Abercrombie & Fitch store in London because the cardigan she wore to cover the prosthetic limb in place of her missing left forearm violated the teen-apparel merchant's strict employee dress code. The 22-year-old testified that her manager taunted her about her disability. Ohio-based Abercrombie denied this.

A London employment tribunal ordered Abercrombie to pay Dean about 9,000 pounds ($15,000 US) in compensation for injured feelings, lost earnings and wrongful dismissal.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/08/13/abercrombie-disabilitysuit.html

---

I posted about this case on here a couple of months ago:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Merryweather/8

I was disgusted by it then, and I'm glad this girl won her case. Unfortunately, it's not likely to change the company's awful policy of discrimination; $15k is a drop in the ocean for them - they probably spent at least ten times that on lawyers.

Sort of the clothing supplier to the high school in crowd who taunt anyone else who can't spend $75 for a shirt that's worth about $10.

WTF?

Personally, if I were in a clothing store and the sales person had a prosthetic arm, I would be MORE inclined to spend some money there. I like to reward progressive companies with my business. But that's just me.

is it really possible to be awarded cash damages for "injured feelings"???!!!

Hey, I guess that's the difference between the UK and the US, our Founding Fathers really didn't give a rip about hurt feelings when they went for that First Amendment.

This didn't happen in the US

k&r for justice once in a while.

I forgot that this kind of BS happens across the pond. too!

but apparently it can actually be enforced in court. :thumbsup:

I can see why a hip company like A&F did this.