Saturday, January 04, 2020

I Was Told I Couldn't Work Because I Wore My Headscarf!

Black woman was fired out the cannon after she went to work wearing her hijab. 
A young woman is planning on suing a restaurant after her former manager fired her out the cannon because she wore a hijab to her job.

The woman, Stephanae Coleman converted to a Muslim in August and started working at Chicken Express in October. She started wearing the hijab in October and the manager took offense to it.

This happening in Saginaw, Texas.

"Once I clocked in, the manager said, 'Take off anything that doesn't involves Chicken Express,' which I knew he was talking about my hijab."

Coleman recorded the encounter. She had recorded the 22-second encounter with the manager.

"Your job is your job. Your job has nothing to do with religion," the manager says in one video.

"The job requires a specific uniform. [The hijab] is not part of the uniform; you as a paid employee cannot wear it," he added in a second clip which the woman said was from when he called her into the office after speaking on the phone with area coach.






Coleman goes by the name Folake Adebola. She said that her religion is a form of spiritual healing.

"I converted to Islam not too long ago and I started wearing my hijab, I went to work today and was kicked out because my hijab was not apart the 'dress code' apparently and I wasn't allowed to wear it," she posted on Twitter. "Don't come to the Chicken Express in Fort Worth!!"
Manager told young woman to leave the store after she wore a hijab to work.
She added in another tweet: "This is discrimination at its finest! I will not tolerate this at all."

In an interview with the local junk food media and CNN, the young woman said that the conversation was totally out of line.

"So I didn't react, I just went to the back and took off my jacket and my purse. Five minutes later, he called me into the office telling me that I have to take it off because it's not a part of the work uniform."

She said that the manager of Chicken Express said "If it isn't branded by Chicken Express you can't wear it, we don't care about your religion because it has nothing to do with the store."

According to the lawyer representing the company says the manager was "reprimanded."

The company said that they sent her home because she had lack of training and it had nothing to do with her religion.

The company's handbook states that "only Chicken Express hats or visors many be worn" but does not include guidelines on execptions.

"I pay no mind to it because I know what I'm doing is right and can help other women like me," Coleman said.

She added that she hopes this serves as a lesson "for employees [to] be strong and fight for your rights and for employers [to] study the hijab and what it means to Muslim women."



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