Attorney Carney Shegerian, founder of the Los Angeles-based employment discrimination firm Shegerian & Associates, recently released comments on the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of a Muslim woman who sued fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch for refusing to hire her based on her use of a hijab headscarf.

“A number of companies have what’s known as ‘look policy’ in place to protect the company image and support brand building efforts, but sometimes those policies go beyond the bounds of important federal laws put in place to protect religion at work,” Shegerian explained. “This case turned on whether an employer could be held accountable for refusals to hire in violation of Title VII’s religion clause without prior knowledge of an applicant’s religious purposes and need for accommodation.”

“The Supreme Court has ruled that actual knowledge of the need for religious accommodation is not required. An aggrieved applicant need only prove that the need was a motivating factor in the decision to refuse to hire,” Shegerian went on to explain. “This is an important protection for employees who need to know they can’t be left out of certain job opportunities simply for choosing to observe basic aspects of their religion.”

Mr. Shegerian is founder of Shegerian & Associates and winner of the 2013 Trial Attorney of the Year Award from the Consumer Attorney Association of Los Angeles. His prominent employment rights firm has attained a consistent track record of successful jury trials, including 28 seven and eight figure verdicts. The firm has an over 95% success rate and remains an exemplary leader in resolving employment discrimination issues.

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