A Target store in a Minneapolis suburb has cordoned off six changing rooms in a hallway, converting at least part of the fitting room area into what appears to be designated Muslim prayer space that regular shoppers cannot access during their visit.
Store Creates Employee-Only Zone
The Target location blocked off a section of fitting rooms with barriers, preventing customers from using the space for its original purpose. Store signage and physical restrictions indicate the area has been repurposed, though Target has not issued an official statement explaining the conversion or confirming its intended use. Shoppers who attempted to access the fitting rooms during regular shopping hours were turned away by staff members. The Minneapolis-area store took this action without advance public notice to customers who rely on these facilities when making clothing purchases.
The retailer’s decision raises questions about how companies balance employee accommodations with customer service expectations. Federal workplace laws require employers to provide reasonable religious accommodations, but converting customer-facing facilities represents an unusual approach that directly impacts the shopping experience. Other major retailers typically designate back-of-house areas or unused office space for employee prayer rooms rather than repurposing active customer amenities.
Customer Access Restrictions
Regular Target shoppers now face reduced fitting room availability at this location, forcing them to either skip trying on clothes before purchase or wait for access to remaining changing areas. The store has not announced plans to add alternative fitting rooms to replace the converted spaces. Customers expressed confusion about the sudden restriction, particularly since Target stores typically advertise fitting room availability as a standard shopping convenience. The cordoned-off hallway contains approximately six individual changing stalls that previously served shoppers throughout regular business hours.
Broader Retail Implications
This conversion reflects ongoing tensions between religious accommodation requirements and traditional customer service models in American retail. Target has previously faced scrutiny over various policy decisions affecting in-store experiences. The Minneapolis area has significant Muslim population growth, which employers must consider when addressing workplace religious needs. However, the decision to restrict customer facilities rather than create separate employee spaces represents a departure from standard retail industry practices for handling religious accommodations in the workplace.
Any “employee only” space should be somewhere that was not accessible to customers before.
There should be an equality for the religious aspects if they cater to the Muslim. The choice of a religion should not be plaed into the spot light per se, it is a personal choice. It’s skirts around other race baiting techniques and we should not allow any of it. If your personal choice of a religion keeps you from being employed, then the issue itself is not the potential employer, it is you. If the employer bends the rules for one, then they must bend the rules for all.