Clothing retailer accused of discriminating against minorities (Abercrombie & Fitch)

The San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/17/03 | Deborah Kong

[I_Love_My_Husband]

Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch recruits and hires a disproportionately white sales force, cultivates a virtually all-white image and discriminates against minorities in hiring and firing, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

The lawsuit, filed by nine Hispanic and Asian plaintiffs in federal court in San Francisco, alleges that Abercrombie discriminates against blacks, Hispanics and Asians by enforcing a nationwide corporate policy of preferring white employees for sales positions, desirable job assignments and favorable work schedules.

[AD from SpringBay]

Wong Brothers Laundry Service -- Two Wongs Can Make it White

When I mix the whites and colors my wife gets mad at me.

[Principled]

What's bad about private companies making their own hiring decisions?

[Principled]

That's a class action suit waiting for a lawyer....

fabric related light reflectivity separation disorder, don't you know!

[I_Love_My_Husband]

I'm with you. They have the cutest clothes too.

[etcetera]

Discrimination in hiring is bad if based on race, sex, religion. I guess Hooters has to hire men?

[HaveGunWillTravel]

Black Entertainment Channel.

[princess leah]

when will the hispanics, blacks and others in this category realize that its the LIBERALS who are behind true racial prejudice in this country!

[I_Love_My_Husband]

I just looked at their website. They've got Gisele Bundchen, a top Brazilian model on their opening page. She's Brazilian and one of the supermodels in the industry currently. Brazil = Latin America as far as I knew.

[Alberta's Child]

My favorite employee at my regular men's clothing store happens to be a young black guy -- because his build is very similar to mine and he can fit a jacket or pair of pants on me better than anyone I've ever met.

Note to clothing retailers: When hiring your sales staff, their race or ethnicity is far less important than how well they can identify with people in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

[Principled]

Hooters was sued by a man desirous of becoming a "hooters guy". Hooters, IIRC, settled.

[Paleo Conservative]

Discrimination in hiring is bad if based on race, sex, religion. I guess Hooters has to hire men?

Don't laugh; Janet Reno tried to make them.

[I_Love_My_Husband]

For anyone who wants to look at their ads which feature beautiful people of ALL colors go here:

http://www.angelfire.com/on2/abercrombieandfitch/pics.html

Since it's angelfire the link might wear out after a few looks.

[randog]

"We're sorry, but we can't rehire you because there's already too many Filipinos working here," said Ocampo, 21.

So, you can't have too many Filipinos but you can have too many whites? If Mr. Ocampo wants quotas then he's already got them.

[PJ-Comix]

After speaking with a manager, a sales person told him, "We're sorry, but we can't rehire you because there's already too many Filipinos working here," said Ocampo, 21.

Right there this guy lost ALL credibility with me. No sales person is going to be that STUPID to say something like that. Hey, Ocampo, why don't you just quote the sales person as saying, "Excuse me, but we illegally discriminate against Filipinos here so we can't hire you."

[Puppage]

One word.................

FUBU

[gathersnomoss]

"Black Entertainment Channel"

Huh, how about the NHL, National Honkie League?

[PJ-Comix]

Anthony Ocampo, a Filipino-American who recently graduated from Stanford University, said he applied for a job at a store in Glendale, Calif. where he'd previously worked.

WAIT A MINUTE! If he PREVIOUSLY WORKED there, then how are they discriminating against him? Also why would a Stanford graduate want to go back to his old sales job at Abercrombie & Fitch?

DOES NOT COMPUTE! DOES NOT COMPUTE! DOES NOT COMPUTE!

[Freedom4US]

Because of the sophistry spewed by so-called "liberals" on this issue in the last 25 years, I've had to re-examine what I've been taught to believe, and believed deeply for many years. With great reluctance, have come to the conclusion that discrimination legislation was largely a mistake.

We are a nation which was built on the concept of a free market. If an employer wishes to hire only gay hispanic paraplegic underwater welders, that is their right and should be respected. We as consumers have the final say who to patronize, after all. Freedom of association is guaranteed in the constitution, after all. Enriching trial lawyers at the expense of our republic is foolish beyond belief.

[G.Mason]

"DEBORAH KONG, AP Minority Issues Writer"

Undoubtably the offspring of the late and great King Kong.

Sad how society has denigrated.

At least her old man had a purpose in life.

[PJ-Comix]

The interesting thing is that I currently have access to wholesale Abercrombie & Fitch shirts and sweatshirts to sell on eBay. Right now I'm holding off because the sweatshirts don't sell for enough on eBay to cover the wholesale cost and the selling costs. I might look into it again in October or November when the weather gets cooler and we get closer to Christmas. Abercrombie & Fitch is a popular clothing brand for folks buying Christmas presents.

[texastoo]

Where I live in the good ole USA, many places won't hire you unless you speak Spanish. Not even if you are a licensed real estate agent. Talk about discrimination!

[PJ-Comix]

Stanford, UC Santa Barbara.... Folks, do we see a pattern here? These aren't ordinary plaintiffs. Methinks we are seeing students at far left schools playing the racial shakedown game via the legal system. I absolutely guarantee you that NOBODY at Abercrombie & Fitch made the following idiotic statement:

"We're sorry, but we can't rehire you because there's already too many Filipinos working here,"

What we are witnessing is a racial shakedown game by college students. It would be interesting to see just how politically active these students were/are.

[Guillermo]

or F.U.B.U.

[PJ-Comix]

Plaintiff Angeline Wu, a Chinese-American, saw her hours cut and was later terminated from a store in Costa Mesa, Calif. That happened after a manager pointed at a poster of a blond-haired, blue-eyed male model and said the store needed more staff members with a similar appearance, she said.

Yeah, sure. < /sarcasm> The more I read, the LESS CREDIBLE this report is becoming. And what college does Angeline Wu go to? Did they teach her to play the racial shakedown game there as well?

[superloser]

This is California. Whites are *not* the majority down there. Technically, this case can be thrown out because Hispanics and Asians are the majority. An enterprising lawyer could turn this into a very interesting "Affirmative Action" case.

I'd have to reread the civil rights laws, but since everyone is a "minority" down in California, all of this should go straight out the window.

But then again, being California....

[Servant of the Nine]

There aren't a lot of ethnic minorities that know anything about selecting the proper fly rod for steelhead, or shotgun for upland game birds. The same goes for picking the proper clothing for the outing.

This is not just a matter of being able to operate the cash register or help pick out a nice blazer.

So9

[sharktrager]

Hmmmm...freepmail me some prices

[kstewskis]

"If you look at the material they put out, they are cultivating an all-white look," said Thomas Saenz, vice president of litigation at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs.

Since when is it a crime when a privately owned company targets to a particular "look?"

When you have a "VP of litigation" (thug) of the "Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund....anything that doesn't favor Latinos (read: discriminates against whites or anyone else, for that matter)...you have this tripe.

[PJ-Comix]

Hmmmm...freepmail me some prices

I won't be getting any of them until at least October. Right now I am selling 4X and 5X Tie Dye shirts on eBay. Interestingly a sale I made last week was to a Jim Robinson but not OUR Jim Robinson...unless he wears 5X shirts and moved to Clinton, MA.

[staytrue]

many places won't hire you unless you speak Spanish

Many places won't hire you if you can't do higher mathematics either, and your point is ? The law prohibits discrimination on race, religion or national origin. It does not prohibit skill or knowledge based discrimination.

[staytrue]

What's bad about private companies making their own hiring decisions?

The bad is that it is against the law if you doing it because of race, religion or national origin. Further, refusing to hire because of race, religion, or national origin, is so unfair that it diminishes our country and the values of decency and fairness that made the US the best country in the world

[OldFriend]

Nice to see Abercrombie and Fitch under the gun. They send their disgusting pornographic catalogs to college students all over the country.

[jjm2111]

Oh whaaa....I've always said, it's not the color of the skin that I object to, it's the thickness.

[staytrue]

I believe the law does not preclude discrimination based on sex.

[staytrue]

why would a Stanford graduate want to go back to his old sales job at Abercrombie & Fitch?

I believe he is 21 and just graduated. He may not be ready to be CEO at IBM.

[PJ-Comix]

You must have broght me good luck. I checked my auctions just after I replied to you and I sold two more 5X Tie Dye shirts.

[PJ-Comix]

I just checked their online catalog and see NOTHING "pornographic" about it. Care to explain the smear?

[staytrue]

Hispanics and Asians are the majority (in CA)

I believe that is incorrect. Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics, constitute a majority. Whites are still the largest group.

[IYAS9YAS]

Discrimination based on sex is against federal law.

[staytrue]

So, you can't have too many Filipinos but you can have too many whites?

Your are twisting the guys words. The guy is saying the store can have all whites or all filipinos or whatever, but job hiring should not be based on race. You should be on his side. It is A/F who is allegedly saying "we want quotas". You are confusing plaintiff with defenders of affirmative action. This is not about affirmative action, it is about race discrimination.

[staytrue]

Why were the feminists blathering about the demise of the ERA amendment ?

[adam_az]

Nice to see Abercrombie and Fitch under the gun. They send their disgusting pornographic catalogs to college students all over the country.

Yes, they should only be sending Burka catalogs to college students! Long sleeves and long pants.

What's your next bright idea, banning the Bikini?

[Ferret Fawcet]

From what I understand, it's just in the print catalog- they use different images online... they used to have to mail the print catalogs in mylar or sililarly protective packaging, if memory serves...haven't seen the web or print catalogs in a couple years...

here is a news article that explains it better

[OldFriend]

Obviously you haven't seen the catalogs to which I refer.

[OldFriend]

I don't know how to link.....but I suggest you go to google.com and see what all the fuss is about........it's just down a few lines........

[adam_az]

Obviously you haven't been a college student for a long time...

The A&F catalog isn't going to be the proverbial straw that broke the camels back when it comes to college students and "pornographic" material...

[joebuck]

"Hooters was sued by a man desirous of becoming a "hooters guy". Hooters, IIRC, settled."

If I recall this case correctly, Hooters wasn't sued by the male, rather, he filed a complaint against them with either the EEOC or the equivilent State agency. (a prerequisite for filing a discrimination suit). The agency denied the claim and as far as I know it ended there.

[texastoo]

The point is that these places who speak Spanish only will never know about my reading, writing or arithmatic because I don't speak Spanish. Yet, money is confiscated out of my pay check to teach bilingual education.