Air France Fires Herndon Woman for Wearing Head Scarf

According to NBC 4 a Herndon woman is accusing Air France of terminating her position at the airline because of her religion.

Riham Osman, 19, wears a hijab, or a head scarf, was hired by a staffing agency to work as a passenger service agent for Air France. On her first day she was told to take off the scarf because it violates the airline’s uniform policy, and she refused. 

In a press release from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the organization is calling on the airline to apologize to Osman.

"It is clear that a discriminatory dress code implemented in France would not supersede American laws protecting the religious rights of employees. Air France must follow American law and grant reasonable religious accommodations for its employees,” said CAIR Staff Attorney Gadeir Abbas to Air France General Manager Patrick Roux.

CAIR is also asking Air France for clarification on the airline’s policy on religious accommodation for its employees, workplace sensitivity and diversity training for its Dulles Airport employees, and compensation for the emotional distress and financial loss suffered by Osman.