Hair salon fined for requiring it hairdressers show their hair

The owner of the salon won the discrimination part of the case, but lost on the issue of hurt feelings. From the UK's Telegraph:

A Muslim teenager has been awarded £4,000 for "hurt feelings" after the owner of a hair salon refused her a job because she wears a headscarf.

Bushra Noah, 19, told a tribunal she was "devastated" at being turned down for a job as a stylist at a trendy hair salon, and claimed she was a victim of religious discrimination.

But salon owner Sarah Desrosiers, 32, told the hearing in central London that it was an "absolutely basic" job requirement for stylist to have their own hair on show.

"I never in a million years dreamt that somebody would be completely against the display of hair and be in this industry," she said. "I don't feel I deserve it. I feel it is a bit steep for what actually happened. It's really scary for a small business."

The hearing was told Mrs Noah, 19, of Acton, west London, got an interview for a job as a junior assistant at the Wedge salon in King's Cross, central London. But when she arrived for interview in May last year she claimed Ms Desrosiers was clearly shocked that she wore a headscarf.

Mrs Noah had told the tribunal: "Ms Desrosiers stated that as it was a hair salon it was essential that I did not wear a headscarf.

"She then said how uncomfortable she felt with me being around. I wasn't sure how to respond. I was extremely offended and felt that her questions were insulting, both to me and to my religion."

Ms Desrosier said she insists all stylists wear their hair in "alternative" ways. . . .

Obama has also gotten into an absurd controversy over the fact that Obama's campaign wouldn't let women with head scarfs stand behind Obama at a rally. Laura Ingraham has the story here. As Laura says, if a Republican campaign had kept muslims off the stage, it would have created all sorts of problems and controversy.