Hairdresser Sued for Refusing to Hire Muslim Woman in a Headscarf

November 9, 2007

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Daily Mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=492407&in_page_id=1770

The owner of a hair salon is being sued for religious discrimination for refusing to hire a Muslim woman who wears a headscarf.

Sarah Desrosiers, 32, says she turned down Bushra Noah as a junior stylist to maintain the image of her salon, which specialises in "urban, funky" cuts.

She told Miss Noah, 19, she needed her staff to display their hairstyles to the public.

But the devout Muslim insisted that wearing her headscarf was essential to her beliefs.

Miss Noah, who has been rejected for 25 different hairdressing jobs after interviews, is suing Miss Desrosiers for more than £15,000 for injury to her feelings plus an unspecified sum for lost earnings.