A 19-year-old woman who was suspended from her job at Banana Republic for allegedly wearing box braids has filed a lawsuit against the clothing company for $1 million.
Destiny Tompkins, who is black, has filed a discrimination lawsuit against her former employer after her manager, who is white, allegedly told her that her box braids were “too urban” and “unkempt” for the company image and that she wouldn’t be scheduled for any more shifts if she didn’t change her hair.
On October 4, Tompkins wrote a lengthy Facebook post describing what she had gone through after reporting to work at Banana Republic’s Westchester Mall branch earlier that day.
“I came in and [my manager] questioned me about the dress code and immediately, I thought there was something wrong with my outfit but he sat me down and questioned my hair instead,” Tompkins wrote in her Facebook post, which has been shared almost 60,000 times. “He told me that my braids were not Banana Republic appropriate and that they were too ‘urban’ and ‘unkempt’ for their image.”
Source: Banana Republic Employee Fired Over Box Braids Sues for $1 Million
