Only a few months after Abercrombie and Fitch’s CEO came under fire for his comments on “cool people” (as well as a manager, who claimed the clothes weren’t “for poor people”), the retailer is now under investigation in France after claims were made that they hire — hold onto your hats — based on looks. (Crazy, right? Something none of us saw coming?)
According to Reuters, the Defenseur des Droits are investigating A&F in terms of discrimination, claiming they have reasons to believe that staff hired as “models” were also used as sales associates.
“Though physical appearance may legitimately be a key and determining professional factor for models, that’s not so for sales staff,” Dominique Baudis said.
However, the investigation will be ongoing until the end of 2013, and even then, a lawsuit can only be filed by an individual who claims to be the victim of discrimination — thus, when the investigation concludes, the Defenseur des Droits can only make recommendations.
We’ll see how this pans out.
