Muslim ex-worker sues Disney for Religious Discrimination

15 Aug, 2012

According to media sources, Boudlal has been working as a hostess at Storytellers Cafe, a restaurant inside Disney's Grand California Hotel & Spa at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, since two years.

Sources added that Disney managers denied Boudlal’s request to wear a Muslim head scarf that matches with the colour of uniform, along with the Disney logo by saying, “it would violate the company's policy for how employees "look" while on the job.”

The lawsuit states that she was given an option to work in a back area, away from customers and to wear a fedora-style hat on top of her head scarf, which she refused.

The U.S. citizen who was born in Morocco said, "Disneyland calls itself the happiest place on earth, but I faced harassment as soon as I started working there,"

"It only got worse when I decided to wear a hijab," she added.

Suzi Brown, the spokeswoman of Disney land Resort said, "Walt Disney Parks and Resorts have a history of accommodating religious requests from cast members of all faiths. Unfortunately, (Boudlal) has rejected all of our efforts and has since refused to come to work."

The complaint results in penalty charges and an order that states Disney may not prohibit employees from wearing hijabs.

Read Comments