Europe: Not hiring people of certain ethnic origin - discrimination

Feryn said it will not hire Moroccan installers since it was not acceptable to customers.


The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that any employer who says he does not hire people of a certain ethnic origin is in violation of anti-discrimination law in a case against the Belgian door manufacturer Feryn.

Feryn, which specialises in making garage doors, announces publicly a few years ago that it did not hire foreigners as its clients did not want foreigners coming into their house.

The Belgian Centre for Equality and Against Racism took the issue up with the court. In a first ruling, the company was exonerated. The Centre appealed this ruling.

The presiding judge in the appeals case asked the advice of the ECJ.

The ECJ comes back with a ruling that it clearly constitutes discrimination, even though there is no apparent plaintiff as an individual. The ECJ says that such open declarations could dissuade certain people from applying to work at the company.

"There does not have to be a tangible victim. Public declarations, in and of themselves, can constitute the suspicion of discrimination and it is up to the employer to come up with proof to the contrary," declares Stefaan Van der Jeught of the ECJ.

The European Court adds that it is now up to the Belgian judge to impose sanctions which are both proportional and act as a deterrent.

Jozef De Witte of the Belgian Centre for Equality and Against Racism is very pleased with the judgement. "This applies not just to one company, but to all companies- public or private- all over Europe."

"It constitutes a line which cannot be crossed. This ruling is important, not just for Belgium, but for all the European countries."

Source: Expatica (English)

See also: Belgium: lawsuit against firm


Anonymous said...

What is this employer supposed to do? I wouldn't let a FOB Moroccan in my house. I don't want to get raped or robbed, tyvm. Apparently I'm not the only one. I would also refuse to let a Muslim healthcare worker anywhere near me. I don't want to die of infection from workers who refuse to practice proper hygiene or from straight-up homicide. You can't put your life in the hands of someone who wants to kill you, and you can't let parasitic sex criminal terrorists into your house. That is the definition of reason. Get with the program, free world.

Esther said...

Hi jetabler,

And I don't want to die of AIDs, should I refuse to work with all homosexuals?

Anonymous said...

Esther, you know that your argument is irrational, whereas I have statistics on my side. If the government wants to pay his employer in order to compensate for the fact that he has to keep someone on the payroll who nobody will let fix their garage door, that's fine, but they can't force him to bankrupt himself so that he can hire someone who nobody will allow into their home. If it's unacceptable to the consumer, it's unacceptable. Thhis is a capitalist society and that's how it works. It's like the hairdresser with the rag on her head. She's unquaified even if she has the qualifications if consumers won't put their dollar votes in her hands.

You'll only get AIDS if you have sex with homosexuals. Would you let a Moroccan in your home if you had a 5-year-old daughter? And if you did, would you let either one of them out of your sight for a second?

Of course it constitutes discrimination, but the question is, who is being discriminated against more? I'm on the side of the employer, who has every right to not bankrupt himself just so he can keep someone on the payroll who nobody will allow into their home.

Esther said...

Hi jetabler,

First, you don't need to have sex with a homosexual to get AIDS, you need to get in contact with the bodily fluids of a person who has AIDS.

Second, I wouldn't leave my daughter with *any* stranger alone, period. Do you want me to list how many rapists turned out to be 'that nice neighbor down the street'?

I agree that the market is run by capitalism, but there's a big difference between saying "I won't hire you because you're [Moroccan/black/Jewish/have a funny nose] and my customers don't want a worker who is [Moroccan/black/Jewish/have a funny nose]" and "I won't hire you because you don't follow the company dress code". I hope you can see the difference.

What should the company do? I don't know. But it's a real problem.

You're welcome to find those statistics. Keep in mind that even in places where Muslims/immigrants are overrepresented in crime, they are still a MINORITY of criminals. When 5% of the population commits 20% of the crimes, they're overrepresented in crime statistics. But it still means that 80% of the crimes are being committed by your nice non-Muslim neighbors.