Employee sues for disability discrimination

A law student born with a missing forearm has taken a US clothing giant to a tribunal after she claims they made her work in a stockroom.

Former Abercrombie and Fitch employee Riam Dean was given permission to wear a cardigan to cover the join in her arm, but she was later told that she would have to work in the stockroom as the cardigan did not adhere to dress policy.

Miss Dean told the tribunal she felt "taunted" when her manager told her she could return to the shop floor of the firm's flagship store on London's Savile Row if she removed the cardigan.

She questioned their management skills saying: "I felt personally diminished, humiliated and could not argue a point I could never win."

Miss Dean, who has just finished her final exams at Queen Mary, University of London, is seeking damages for disability discrimination at an employment tribunal in central London.

Abercrombie & Fitch has yet to respond to the allegations in the tribunal but on Tuesday night a spokeswoman for the company said Miss Dean's portrayal of what occurred was "inaccurate".

The news comes after Abercrombie and Fitch got into deep water when it printed t-shirts featuring slogans such as, "Two Wongs can make it White" or "Get your Buddha on the Floor," partnered with pictures of Asian laundrymen wearing rice patty straw hats, prompting an online petition.