Teen sues Burger King over uniform, claiming that the close she was asked to wear in order to work at the burger joint is against her religion.
Ashanti McShan was a 17-year-old high school senior when she applied for a job as a cashier at the Grand Prairie Burger King in August 2010. McShan is a Pentecostal Christian and said that her religious beliefs forbid women to wear men's clothing, so she would instead wear a long black skirt in place of the standard-issue uniform pants.
According to the lawsuit filed on her behalf this week by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Burger King employee interviewing her "assured her that she could wear a skirt to work."
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit for religious discrimination on behalf of the Texas teen, according to an Aug. 24, 2012 report by the Today News Gazette.
"The result of the foregoing practices has been to deprive Ashanti McShan of equal employment opportunities because of her religious beliefs and observances as a Christian Pentecostal," the lawsuit states. The incident could be a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars religious discrimination in the workplace.
The Inquisitr reported that the teen is being represented by Meaghan Shepard, who released the following statement:
"The legal standard is 'undue hardship,' and in this instance it was a very simple request - to be able to wear a long black skirt and not black pants - and it was initially granted. And then she shows up at orientation, on time, and is then told by the manager to leave and that she couldn't wear a skirt."
"She was responsible, tried to get in touch with someone higher in the franchise, and they never responded to her. In our eyes, it was so clear-cut. She's a very sweet, articulate young lady who was just trying to work her senior year in high school," Shepard said.
