EU court rules workplace ban on headscarves legal

Luxembourg

EUROPEAN companies can ban employees from wearing religious or political symbols including the Islamic headscarf, the European Union's (EU) top court ruled on Tuesday in a landmark case.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said that it does not constitute "direct discrimination" if a firm has an internal rule banning the wearing of "any political, philosophical or religious sign". The Luxembourg-based court was considering the case of a Muslim woman fired by the security company G4S in Belgium after she insisted on wearing a headscarf.