Case law developments
Conviction for extortion for employers who force their employees to serve as a director of the company
The criminal section of the Italian Supreme Court recently ruled that an employer who, taking advantage of the instability in the labor market, threatened to dismiss one of their employees in order to force the employee to recuse themselves as a director of their employer company committed extortion.
Dismissal for homophobic statements
According to the Italian Supreme Court, an employee can be lawfully dismissed for just cause if they fail to respect other peoples' sexual orientation by making inappropriate homophobic statements. In fact, the judges pointed out that dishonorable and immoral phrases, such as those in the case at hand, represent a form of harassment, to be evaluated by specifically taking into account the victim's feelings and perception of discrimination.
No dismissal if the employer tolerates its employees' slowness and poor performances
A territorial Labor Court ruled that if an employee is slow and inefficient in performing their duties and the employer has tolerated this conduct before formally starting a disciplinary proceeding and dismissing them, the relevant disciplinary dismissal is unlawful. In this case, the court ordered the employer to reinstate the unlawfully dismissed employee and pay them compensation for damages.
Collective discrimination and sexist public statements
During an interview, the founder of a well-known fashion brand declared that only managers who are men or "women over 40" (who have already had children then and can devote themselves only to work) are hired by the company. In June 2024, the company was sentenced to pay damages to the National Anti-discrimination Association and implement a diversity and inclusion program for its employees. The same company has recently been sentenced for collective discrimination, as its founder's statements have been seen as indirect discrimination, since they are likely to discourage female workers from applying for management roles.
Can collective bargaining end individual economic entitlements?
If, as a result of various corporate reorganizations, some employees have retained economic benefits not provided for in their individual contracts (and, in particular, special allowances not foreseen in collective bargaining), according to the Italian Supreme Court, it is possible for collective bargaining to eliminate such individual benefits, even if this results in the economic treatment of the individual employee becoming worse.
