A Muslim woman is now suing Planet Fitness after the gym allegedly refused to let her wear her religious head covering as she worked out, reports claim.
According to USA Today, Tarainia McDaniel recently filed a lawsuit in New Mexico regarding a 2011 conflict that resulted in Planet Fitness not allowing her to wear her head cover as she worked out.
However, The Albuquerque Journal reports that there are documents claiming another Planet Fitness in the same area previously allowed her to wear it without any problem.
McDaniel joined the chain in Albuquerque on a two-year contract but later transferred to the new location. On Oct. 3, 2011, she was turned away for wearing the head covering which didn’t meet the company’s dress code.
There was a sign in the gym that said, “no jeans, work boots, bandanas, skull caps or revealing apparel.”
She asked if she could wear the informal cover to accommodate her Muslim religion and even asked if she could come back in wearing the formal hijab instead. However, the gym declined both requests.
In a statement, the company said the gyms take into consideration their members’ religious beliefs regarding dress code. “At Planet Fitness, our policy is, and has always been, that members are allowed to wear head scarves for religious reasons in our clubs.”