Originally Posted By SpokkerJones The irony is that those who believe that this woman should not be allowed to wear the scarf are more well-suited to live in oppressive Middle Eastern regimes that do restrict freedom of religion. "rabble rabble she would never be able to get away with that in her own country rabble rabble where there is no religious freedom rabble rabble!" Yeah, and some people want to bring that religious intolerance to the good old USA. They want private companies to do it and I suspect some want the government to do it too. In any case, this will be tested in court under Title VII if it comes to that. Disney will essentially have to prove that the headscarf restricts their ability to do business. I don't see how a waitress in a headscarf makes your club sandwich any less tasty.
Originally Posted By MickeyMommy I don't see any problem with wearing a head scarf either. But an employer has the right to set a dress code. An employee has the right to choose whether they want to work there or not. But she took the job knowing the dress code, now wants to sue and use her religion as an excuse. A lot of people will have a problem with that.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "The irony is that those who believe that this woman should not be allowed to wear the scarf are more well-suited to live in oppressive Middle Eastern regimes that do restrict freedom of religion." Wow. So if she were employed as the principle character in the opera Carmen she should still be allowed to wear her religious headdress? This isn't a religious issue. This is about employers having the right to set dress codes for their employees. "But an employer has the right to set a dress code. An employee has the right to choose whether they want to work there or not. But she took the job knowing the dress code, now wants to sue and use her religion as an excuse." Yep.
Originally Posted By believe >>>>>>The typical guest really doesn't care what the employee's wearing, as long as they have a name tag. <<<<< I don't think that's true. There are still quite a few intolerant people out there. (case in point 1, Prop 8. case in point 2, tea party).
Originally Posted By believe When you are hired into DL, you are asked if you have a problem with the dress code. So, you shouldn't complain or break the rules. I addition, she was allowed to work a different position - which she chose not to. So it was her choice for not working.
Originally Posted By tashajilek The point is she knew the dress code before hand and she was fine with it. She was also offered a new position thats allowing her to wear the headdress.
Originally Posted By mikeginla She is just trying to make some easy money from a lawsuit. If she just started wearing the head wrap, it was not even important to her a few weeks ago.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost This type of situation is not new to Disney or any other place that is trying to maintain a particular non-discript idenity. Religion or beliefs (outside) should not enter into a themed land such as a Disney park. Once the scarf materializes it becomes a religious identity and the focus is lost. Would it do harm, emotionally, to anyone? I don't know, but it would ruin the ombience of the location and introduce an entirely new element to it. Since Disney is upfront about the Cast Member identity and the reasons are the show...there should be no occasion where anyone should be able to change the rules or the objectives for personal reasons. If offered another job in an area where the religious identification is less obvious and it was refused, then Disney did not indicate any hostility towards the person or their religion.
Originally Posted By socalkdg I believe the law states that a company must try and find an alternative job for a person if they are required to wear something for their religion and if that wearing doesn't fit with either a dress code or there are safety issues. Disney offered her a different position. She said no. She wants to wear what she wants, but also wants everyone to see that she is wearing it. Funny, but a person would be fired at my work if they said no to doing a different job than what they are currently doing. I move people around all the time to fill in at different positions. Unless they are hurt and can't do the job, they do what needs to be done.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones "So if she were employed as the principle character in the opera Carmen she should still be allowed to wear her religious headdress?" She isn't playing Betsy Ross in a stage play. She's serving overpriced food. Her headscarf doesn't intrude on the theme or prevent Disney from selling said overpriced food.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones "Disney offered her a different position. She said no." Why should people with religious headgear be forced to work in the back? Why are we so afraid of a headscarf? "Funny, but a person would be fired at my work if they said no to doing a different job than what they are currently doing. I move people around all the time to fill in at different positions" I assume you are doing that for productivity reasons, not because someone came in with a headscarf and you can't handle it.
Originally Posted By hbquikcomjamesl I'm with "SpokkerJones" on this one. As to the title role in Carmen with or without a hijab, there is a qualitative difference. Major theatrical roles generally call for not only a very specific costume, but a specific gender, age, and ethnicity. We would not normally find, for example, an African-American man as Carmen, or a Swedish woman as Othello. Think about Shelly Long's character in "Outrageous Fortune": a woman whose greatest ambition is to play Hamlet. Yet even in the realm of major theatrical roles, we find exceptions: in "Pippin," I've seen "Leading Player" portrayed by a black man (Ben Vereen, in the Broadway Cast video), a white man (Eric Fling, if memory serves, in Fountain Valley High School's 1980 production), and by a woman (in Runaway Stage Productions' 2000 production, their last before moving out of Old Sacramento's Eagle Theatre). And if it were an unconventional production of Carmen (not necessarily even as unconventional as a production of Hamlet with a woman in the title role), I'm sure a hijab would be of no consequence. Waiting tables is NOT the same thing as doing a meet-and-greet as Cinderella. Not even in WDW's "50's Prime Time Cafe."
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "So if she were employed as the principle character in the opera Carmen she should still be allowed to wear her religious headdress?" >>She isn't playing Betsy Ross in a stage play. She's serving overpriced food.<< Of course. But you didn't answer the question.
Originally Posted By myinnerpeterpan Upon hire she obviously understood and willingly excepted the fact that Disney requires all employees to follow a certain dress/costume. Now all of the sudden she she has a problem? Follow the rules written for everyone or go pound the pavement!
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Waiting tables is NOT the same thing as doing a meet-and-greet as Cinderella. Not even in WDW's "50's Prime Time Cafe." That isn't the point. The point is what legal right does the employer (theater company, Disney, or otherwise) have to enforce a specific uniform dress code?
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I wonder if Disney provided her with material that matched the rest of the Storytellers cast member uniforms, and she made a head scarf from that, could both sides live with that accommodation? Her uniform would be in-theme and she'd have her head fully covered. I may have just saved Disney a million bucks. Again. ; )
Originally Posted By hbquikcomjamesl > I wonder if Disney provided her with > material that matched the rest of the > Storytellers cast member uniforms, and > she made a head scarf from that, could > both sides live with that accommodation? That would make too much sense. Incidentally, a little over a century ago, the most vigorous defenders of religious freedom and separation of church and state were the forerunners of the ones who, today, are trying hardest to tear down church-state separation.
Originally Posted By doombuggy The Jewish and christian cm's should file a complaint against her saying they are offended by her religious display. Whats fair is fair
Originally Posted By LuLu I'm not offended by her religious display, but as said earlier, it becomes the focus (even if made in costume-matching fabric ) And she's a hostess, not a waitress. Therefore the first Cast Member you see upon entering the restaurant.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones "Of course. But you didn't answer the question." One thing is not like the other. The whole "onstage" aspect of Disneyland has been cute and all but this Muslim woman, or any other cast member, is not an actor and she is not being paid scale. In any case, the actor who fails to embody his or her role in a play has a measurable and negative effect on the success of that play, especially if they are playing a historical figure. This is called "bad acting" and people generally dislike it. This Muslim woman's head garb has no effect on the atmosphere of a lightly themed restaurant in a hotel. It doesn't impact revenue and doesn't make the food taste worse. It shouldn't bother anyone but the righteously xenophobic and we should not bow down to those types anyway. "The point is what legal right does the employer (theater company, Disney, or otherwise) have to enforce a specific uniform dress code?" That's for the courts to decide if this goes to trial. However, I am not comfortable with the idea that anyone with a deep-seated religious belief that requires them to wear a piece of headgear that I don't even understand must be relegated to the backroom.
