Discrimination from what I understand is the denial or rejection of an individual because of something they have no control over--such as their race, culture, or beliefs. It is a behavior that is not acceptable at all. But the European Court of Justice decided last week in a case concerning religious discrimination to sanction it.
The case started more than 10 years ago with the security company G4S's disapproval of its employee Samira Achbita’s decision to wear a headscarf. Believing that they should accommodate clients who wouldn't want to deal with employees wearing any kind of religious symbol, G4S made these restrictions an unwritten rule in their company, prohibiting employees, "in the workplace, from wearing any visible signs of their political, philosophical or religious beliefs and/or from engaging in any observance of such beliefs." As a result, Achibita was fired and challenged the company’s decision at court.
The case went all the way to the European Court of Justice, ending on March 14th, 2017 when the court ruled that “indirect discrimination may be objectively justified by a legitimate aim." In other words, any individual wearing political, philosophical or religious signs can be treated differently by a company and that discrimination will not be seen as unfair. But this rule can only be enforced if there are existing company rules requiring to dress "neutrally." Apparently, only employers not clients or customers can enforce this dress code. An employer can, however, stop an employee wearing political, philosophical or religious signs from interacting with a customer.
The court's decision is kind of confusing. It recognizes that there is discrimination but sees that discrimination as justifiable. But how can bigotry of any kind be justifiable? This type of discrimination basically says that religious symbols are a nuisance. But that argument is invalid as there are many men and women who wear religious symbols and are able to work pretty much in every field.
This new law will affect Muslim women who wear the headscarf, Sikh men who wear the turban or Jewish men who wear the yarmulke. But head scarfs can be worn for other reasons such as medical or cultural purposes. People clothe themselves based on their likes, situations, or beliefs. So, I really do not think it makes sense to discriminate against religious signs. It will not only punish people for practicing their beliefs but also push them away from their jobs.
Discrimination should never be tolerated. But the European Court of Justice has made it legal for companies to discriminate against their employees for wearing religious garments. Such legalized bigotry should be a thing of the past but lately it seems like there have been bad feelings towards minority groups. Violence directed towards Jews and Muslims have increased greatly. And decisions such as this seems like a step backward in solving the problem.
