WASHINGTON (JTA) — Seven national Orthodox Jewish groups filed a Supreme Court brief in favor of a Muslim woman’s right to wear a headscarf at work.
The brief was filed by Washington attorney Nathan Lewin in a case that is expected to be heard in February or March. It deals with whether an applicant’s failure to provide explicit notice that she is a practicing Muslim who wears a headscarf at work allowed the clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch to reject her application, saying it was in violation of the company dress code.
In the brief, Lewin recounted that all his applications to New York City law firms were turned down because the firms did not want to be inconvenienced by making accommodations for his religious observance.
The National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs, Agudas Harabbanim, Agudath Israel of America, National Council of Young Israel, Rabbinical Alliance of America, Rabbinical Council of America and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America joined the friend-of-the-court brief.
