EU court backs French woman fired for wearing hijab

An advocate general of the European Union's top court in Luxembourg said that the French company discriminated the woman it fired for wearing hijab.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), EU's topmost court, released an advisory opinion by British senior lawyer Eleanor Sharpston on Wednesday, July 13. According to the preliminary opinion, Sharpston viewed the case as "nothing to suggest that Ms. Bougnaoui was unable to perform her duties as a design engineer because she wore an Islamic headscarf."

"Indeed, Micropole SA's (her employer's) letter terminating her employment had expressly referred to her professional competence," said the Advocate General.

The woman in question, Asma Bougnaoui, filed a case against the French IT consultancy company in June 2009 after it suddenly fired her for wearing the Islamic headscarf. The company reportedly told the Muslim woman to stop wearing the headscarf after a big French insurance company based in Toulouse felt "embarrassed" to be seen working with her.

Bougnaoui continued to wear her headscarf that led to her termination without prior warning. She brought the case in court where the lower courts ruled in favor of the company and found a "real and serious cause" yet ordered for compensation over the sudden termination.

When the case reached the French Supreme Court, it referred to the Luxembourg court for advice on whether Bougnaoui's firing had "genuine and determining occupational requirement."

Although France forbids its public employees from wearing anything that could be perceived as flaunting their religious belief, it is bound to follow CJEU's rulings as an EU member.

Sharpston opined in this case that the dismissal only proved discriminatory.

She argued that EU's law is made "to confer protection in employment against adverse treatment (that is, discrimination) on the basis of one of the prohibited factors. It is not about losing one's job in order to help the employer's profit line."

However, the Luxembourg Wort reported that Sharpston's opinion contradicts to another similar case in May where a Belgian company also fired a woman for wearing a headscarf. The court is expected to give its final ruling at year-end.