German Court Rules Against Hijab-Based Hiring Rejection at Hamburg Airport

German Court Rules Against Hijab-Based Hiring Rejection at Hamburg Airport
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Germany’s Federal Labour Court has ruled in favour of a Muslim woman whose job application was rejected because she wears a hijab, finding that the decision amounted to unlawful religious discrimination.

According to the court’s findings, the woman had applied for a position in passenger and baggage screening at Hamburg Airport and included a personal photograph showing her wearing a headscarf as part of her application. The private security company contracted to work with the federal police declined to move her application forward to the required security clearance stage, citing her wearing of the hijab.

The court held that this action violated Germany’s anti-discrimination laws, stressing that rejecting an applicant on the basis of religious dress lacks a legitimate legal justification. It noted that there is no legal provision prohibiting an aviation security assistant from wearing a hijab and that not wearing a headscarf does not constitute an essential or decisive occupational requirement for the role.

In its ruling, the court ordered the defendant to pay the woman €3,500 in compensation for the discrimination she suffered. The judges underlined that the principles of equality and the prohibition of discrimination on religious grounds must be upheld throughout recruitment processes, particularly in civilian and service-sector jobs.

The decision reinforces legal protections against religious discrimination in employment in Germany and clarifies that visible religious symbols, including the hijab, cannot in themselves be grounds for denying access to jobs that do not have explicit and lawful restrictions.