New California Law Protects Religious Attire at Work

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that requires California employers to accomodate employees' religious attire and clarifies requirements for employers to ensure there is no job discrimination, according to an article posted Sunday on ABC7.com.

The new law may help the case of a Muslim woman who sued Disneyland last month claiming she was fired from a hostess position after refusing to remove her head scarf, the article stated.

A similar incident also reportedly occurred on the Peninsula. Last year, a Foster City woman Abercrombie & Fitch for , saying she was “completely shocked” when she lost her job after she had been working at a retail store at the  for four months. 

"Assembly Bill 1964 makes very clear that a dress code that is imposed by an employer must still accommodate religious attire. And so, so long as there is no undue hardship imposed on the employer, they are going to need to say you can wear that head scarf and you can wear that turban," said Zahra Billoo-Cair, Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Bay Area chapter.

Brown was joined by several members of the Sikh community wearing turbans and head scarves for the bill signing ceremony over the weekend, according to ABC7.com.

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