Disneyland Restaurant Employee Sues over Headscarf Ban

A female Muslim worker that works at the Storytellers Cafe, a restaurant in the Grand California Hotel at the Disneyland Resort, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday. She is claiming that she wasn’t allowed to wear her headscarf, which is called a hijab, in front of customers.

According to reports, 26-year-old Imane Boudlal was fitted for a Disney-supplied headscarf earlier this summer. However, she was told that she couldn’t wear her own while the supplied one was being made, but she wasn’t given a date for its completion either. After wearing a headscarf to work on Sunday to observe Ramadan, her supervisors told her to take it off, work where customers couldn’t see her or leave.

Suzi Brown, a spokeswoman for Disney, says that the company values diversity and has a long-standing policy against discrimination. They have been working with Boudlal, who has been working there for over 2 years, she noted. Someone who works in an on-stage position like hers typically wouldn’t wear something like that, Brown explained, as it’s not part of the costume. They are trying to accommodate her with a position backstage that will allow her to work, she added, and have given her a few different options, which she has chosen not to take.

This isn’t the first time that a Muslim woman has filed a suit against Disney due to the legendary strict dress code. In 2004, the same issue came up. The next year, the case was settled for undisclosed terms. However, the worker’s lawyer did note that his client never worked for the company again.