A young Muslim woman has been awarded €1,550 in damages after the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labour and the Ombud for Equal Treatment ruled that she had been discriminated against in a job application because she wears a headscarf.
The woman, who was completing a vocational training, heard about a vacancy in a metal processing company and applied for the job. During her interview her potential employer pointed out that it was hard to tell what she was really like as she was wearing a headscarf. She said that she was told “we’d be willing to consider you if you take off that rag”.
When she proposed that she could wear a wig instead she said that they laughed at her and told her she was a "bumpkin". She was told to apply for the job again, "but this time send in a normal photo". [The Local] Read more
