A former Disneyland employee filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the Walt Disney Corporation alleging discrimination based on her religion.
Imane Boudlal, 28, had worked as a restaurant hostess at the Storyteller’s Cafe at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa for two years before questioning Disney’s dresscode.
The lawsuit alleges Boudlal, who is a Moroccan native but a naturalized U.S. citizen, in 2010, did report to her managers at the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa’s Storyteller’s Café after she decided to wear her hijab full-time. Muslim women wear the hijab to show as a sign of modesty. She claims she was told wearing her hijab to work was not part of the company’s “look” policy in accordance with their general appearance guidelines, and she was told she could wear a Disney-designed scarf, subject to corporate approval. Among the other restrictions in the policy, it prohibits visible tattoos and fingernails that exceed a quarter of an inch, the lawsuit said. Boudlal was also given other options, including working in an area away from visitors or wearing a hat on top of the scarf.
Not wanting to wait to observe Ramadan, Boudlal wore her own hijab to work Aug. 15, 2010, when she says she was give her options and told she could either remove the scarf, cover it with a hat or work in a job out of public sight. She refused.
Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown said the company attempted to work with Boudlal.
“Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has a history of accommodating religious requests from cast members of all faiths,” Brown said in a statement. “We presented Ms. Boudlal with multiple options to accommodate her religious beliefs, as well as offered her several roles that would have allowed her to wear her own hijab. …
“Unfortunately, she rejected all of our efforts and has since refused to come to work.”
Boudlal’s suit also claims she was harassed by co-workers, who used racial slurs toward her, even though she complained about the harassment to her supervisors.
Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union has filed the lawsuit on Boudlal’s behalf.
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if you’re a “cast member” in a show you wear the costume. If you don’t agree with the costume why take the job? Knowing what all the cast members I have ever met are like I seriously doubt the claim she was harrassed is anything more than a lie to drive the amount of money she will try to get.
The most disturbing part of this article for me comes at the end where she was being harassed by other employees. That is never okay. Never. That might be the more important part of the lawsuit but the press is usual eager to show what is not right in the House of Mouse.
Disney’s appearance policies are no secret. I had similar restrictions when I joined the military, and my tattoos are placed so that they conform to the rules. If she didn’t want to have to follow the same rules as everyone else, why would she get a job at Disney? I’ve actually seen male soldiers that have been allowed to wear a turban in uniform, as long as it is black, and has the symbol of their unit on it, so it looks very similar to the beret. To me, that sounds like the same compromise that Disney offered by offering up a Disney scarf. I’m sure they would not have insulted her by giving her something that has some crazy design on it. When asking for an exception to the rules, you have to be willing to compromise, and she was not. I don’t think she’ll win this lawsuit because she signed the same contract that everyone else did.
They gave her plenty of other options. Everyone who works for Disney has to adhere to it. What makes he think she shouldn’t have to? I have a nephew who chooses to like a Rastafarian lifestyle and has started to grow out his dreads. The place he worked for let him know that this was against policy and he would have to pull them back. He chose not to and was let go. Should he sue? No. He should either conform to the companies policy or find a job elsewhere that it’s allowed. End of issue.
I don’t see why Disney couldn’t just let her wear the hijab.