Court Allows Action For Indirect Discrimination

LUXEMBOURG (CN) - Community law protects an employee who has suffered discrimination because of her son's disability, Europe's highest court ruled.

The Court of Justice ruled that equal treatment protections can apply indirectly to the primary caretaker of a disabled child.

A former legal secretary at a London firm claimed she was constructively fired because she could no longer take the needling from her employers about her disabled son's special needs. She claimed they refused to reinstate her to her old job when she returned from maternity leave, and routinely insulted her and her child.

Because the legal directive does not rule out protection against indirect discrimination, the court ruled that employers cannot treat an employee less favorably than other employees based on a child's disability.

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