COMMENTARY: Company's Dress Code for Employees Is Not a Case of Religious Discrimination

This week, a former Disneyland restaurant employee filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney Co. for harassment and religious discrimination, claiming she was fired because she wanted to wear a Muslim head scarf at work.

Imane Boudlal -- a 28-year-old Muslim -- worked as a hostess at the Storytellers Cafe, a restaurant at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

After being on the job for two years, she asked permission to wear a hijab -- a head scarf worn by Muslim women -- while at work.

Disney managers denied her request, saying it would violate the company's policy for how employees look while on the job.

We agree with the Disney managers in this case. The fact is that a company has the right to enforce certain standards -- including its dress code -- regarding the requirements of its workers.

Moreover, because Boudlal worked for the company for two years before she asked to wear a head scarf illustrates that she did not need to wear one then, so why did she suddenly need to wear one after being on the job for two years?

This is not a matter of company harassment and religious discrimination, then, but rather a company requirement that applies to all employees -- Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc.

Consequently, as we see it, Boudlal doesn't have "a leg to stand on" in her endeavor to sue Walt Disney Co.