British student with prosthetic arm alleges Abercrombie discrimination
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 | 8:41 AM ET
The Associated Press
Riam Dean, the 22-year-old student who alleges Abercrombie & Fitch Co. discriminated against her because of her prosthetic arm, arrives for an employment tribunal in London on Wednesday. (Matt Dunham/Associated Press)A British student who worked for U.S. retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. in London said Wednesday she was discriminated against because she has a prosthetic arm.
Riam Dean is seeking up to 25,000 pounds ($47,000) in damages at an employment tribunal.
Dean, a 22-year-old law student at the University of London, told the tribunal she worked at Abercrombie's store on London's posh Saville Row and had been given permission to wear a sweater to cover her prosthetic arm.
After a few days Dean said she was told she was breaking the company's "look policy" and was asked to work in the stockroom.
Dean said the company gave new employees a thick guidebook dictating everything from how employees should wear their hair to the length of their fingernails.
'Not a cosmetic'
"I have worn a prosthetic arm since I was three years old," she said. "It was part of me, not a cosmetic."
Abercrombie & Fitch said in a statement it "has a strong anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy." It said Dean's account of what happened was inaccurate.
The New Albany, Ohio-based company is known for its edgy advertisements and shops with a nightclub atmosphere. It has faced criticism in the past by those who claim it deliberately selects young, good-looking people to work in its stores.
In 2004 it spent $50 million US to settle a number of employment discrimination lawsuits in the United States.
The hearing began Wednesday and is expected to last for three days.
