Riam Dean
29 Jun 2009 By James MedhurstLike everyone else, I have been rather fascinated by the case that was heard in the London Central Employment Tribunal last week in which a law student who is missing an arm from birth brought a claim against Abercrombie & Fitch alleging disability discrimination. This case has it all - glamour, intrigue and cardigans! The fact that she has received so much support from the usually disability-lukewarm media is interesting in itself. It seems that the more straightforward varieties of disability discrimination, in which reasonable adjustments are neither possible nor necessary, are easier for people to identify with.
Legally speaking, I do not have a great deal to say about this case at the moment. Instead, I refer you to my blogging colleagues, PJH Law, Usefully Employed and Jobsworth for their analyses. Like the Tribunal, I shall reserve judgment. My feeling is that this case potentially raises a lot of intriguing legal issues and I would like to see what happens before I say any more. Let us hope this is not one of those cases that engages the media throughout the hearing but in which they forget to report the outcome.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Dear Mr Medhurst, I hope you have heard that Riam did end up winning her case against A&F, and if the laws had not changed last year she would have also won on direct discrimination. We are very proud of our daughter and for her standing up for her dignity, inspite of what some people thought, I assure you it was never about money, Riam felt she won the case simply by humiliating them in court, she wasnt even interested in the verdict, but for me it was the icing on the cake. Riam is a beautiful person inside and out, she is very smart and didnt deserve to be treated they way A&F did to her.