European Court of Justice upholds headscarf ban

Employers are entitled to ban workers from wearing headscarves, the European Court of Justice based in Luxembourg has ruled. But the ban on the "visible wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign" must be based on internal company rules requiring all employees to "dress neutrally", it ruled. If a company has no policy barring religious symbols, it cannot enforce the ban. Tuesday's ruling was the court's first on the issue of women wearing Islamic headscarves at work. The issue has remained contentious in Europe since France became the first country to ban Islamic full face veils, such as the burka and the niqab, in public places in 2010.