A potentially important case regarding the idea of religious discrimination in the workplace is being fought out in the Supreme Court as Samantha Elauf goes against Abercrombie and Fitch.

Elauf, in a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, is arguing a discrimination claim against Abercrombie and Fitch that makes the case that she was denied work at a Tulsa store because her headscarf- Islamic religious wear- conflicted with the company’s dress code.

In contrast, the store chain has made the argument that the plaintiff never asked for a religious exemption in her interview and that an affirmation of the case would force a climate where employers would have to start stereotyping actions and dress for religious reasons in order to avoid lawsuits.

“An employer cannot be liable for failing to accommodate a religious conflict unless it knows that the religious conflict exists,” wrote Abercrombie’s lawyers in court documents reported by the BBC.

Some of the justices began asking questions to Abercrombie’s lawyers regarding whether or not employees in other obvious religious clothing would be ignored in a normal interview climate, including turbans or habits. Under United States law, it is necessary for those hiring employees to “reasonably accommodate” the religious beliefs of their employees in the workplace, provided that doing so is not unreasonable for the business.

The primary question on the table relating to employee rights is whether or not a need for religious treatment in the hiring process must be directly communicated.While the case itself will not be given a final decision until May, it has been argued and the majority of the justices appear to be leaning towards the case of Elauf and the EEOC.