RantCrush Top 5: March 15, 2017

Yesterday the European court of justice in Luxembourg ruled that workplaces can ban employees from wearing religious symbols, such as headscarves. This is the first decision by the court on religious dress and comes at a tense time, as right-wing parties are gaining popularity all over Europe and the Netherlands is holding its general election today.

However, the court indicated that headscarves can only be banned at a workplace if all religious symbols are banned, so this would affect Jewish kippas, Sikh turbans, and other symbols as well. And customers of a business will have no right to demand that someone take off a religious garment unless the company already has a ban in place.

But this could become a messy legal question, as the European court of human rights has previously ruled that crosses can be worn as a free expression of religion. Religious groups reacted to this new ruling with dismay, and there is a fear that the decision will lead to disproportionate discrimination against Muslim women in the workplace.

How does a hijab or yarmulke, or turban impact the way you do your work? Let people be free. How is this ok? EU ban on religious symbols = 😡

— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) March 14, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.