The European Court of Justice made an important ruling. Church organizations cannot simply fire their employees. This applies when employees leave the church. Leaving alone is not enough reason.
A social worker from Hessen sued. She worked for the Caritas in a center for pregnant women. In 2013, she left the Catholic Church. She did not want to pay the church tax anymore. Her employer fired her in 2019 because of this.
The judges in Luxemburg now say: This is often discrimination. People from other churches also worked in her team. Church membership was not necessary for the job. So the church could not fire the woman because she left. The German Federal Labor Court must now make the final decision.
