Two German firms were fine to ban Muslim women from wearing headscarves, the EU court has said, in a ruling which alarmed rights groups.
"A prohibition on wearing any visible form of expression of political, philosophical, or religious beliefs in the workplace may be justified by the employer's need to present a neutral image towards customers or to prevent social disputes," the court said in a ruling on Thursday (15 July).
A "neutral image" was a "legitimate aim", it noted, even ...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.