Judiciary

Headscarf ban in workplace not discriminatory, top EU court says

Private businesses in Europe can forbid Muslim women in their employ from wearing headscarves if the ban is part of a policy of neutrality within the company and not a sign of prejudice against a particular religion, the European Union Court of Justice said Tuesday. 

Such a ban doesn’t constitute what the court calls “direct discrimination.” 

The conclusion by the highest court in the 28-nation European Union was in response to two cases brought by a Belgian and a French woman, both fired for refusing to remove their headscarves. It clarifies a long-standing question about whether bans by some countries on religious symbols, in classrooms, for example, can be extended to the workplace.