Credit Union says no to customer’s hijab: Public safety or discrimination?

This critical incident describes an alleged discrimination incident involving Sound Credit Union (SCU), a 115,000 member, not-for-profit financial institution in Seattle, Washington. Jamela Mohamed, a black Muslim woman and SCU customer, reported she was denied service because she wore a hood in accordance with her faith. SCU’s customer dress code policy required members to remove their hats, hoods, and sunglasses to protect public safety. Mohamed recorded the incident and subsequently posted the video on Facebook (Mohamed, 2017). The video attracted much negative publicity. SCU released an initial response on Facebook stating it was investigating the incident, but did not apologize. The backlash against SCU continued. Students are asked to decide what communication strategies SCU might use to handle the immediate situation, and what changes, if any, should be made to the dress code policy to ensure its alignment with SCU’s mission while meeting customer goals.