Former Abercrombie & Fitch worker is suing the brand for $35 million because of the dress code

Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch

(AP Images)

Abercrombie & Fitch's notorious "look policy" is getting attention again.

The New York Post reports that Maha Shalaby, a transgender former employee who worked at the New York City flagship store, is suing the brand for $35 million, claiming that the company forced him to wear women's apparel and fired him in 2012 when he refused to do so.

The Post notes that the lawsuit claims that he could "only wear a girls' uniform because that's what customers want to see."

This isn't the first time the company's so-called look policy, a strict dress code that prohibited tattoos and facial hair, has landed it in hot water.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a 17-year-old Muslim girl whom the company would not hire, as she had to wear a headscarf for religious reasons.

And a class-action suit against the company claimed that as many as 62,000 employees were forced to buy the brand's clothing with their own money.

abercrombie 2015
abercrombie 2015

(Facebook/Abercrombie

The company overhauled its look policy last year to be less strict. It has been working to revive its reputation as a retailer with more stylish, on-trend clothes.

The company has also been making efforts to let customers know that it is socially progressive. Arthur Martinez, the company's chairman, told Business Insider in November that bullying was "a cancer among young people" and that the company had launched an antibullying campaign.

An Abercrombie & Fitch representative told Business Insider the brand does not comment on pending litigation.

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