The federal cabinet on Wednesday approved a bill to amend the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG). It envisions, among other things, narrowing the church clause and extending the window for asserting claims from two months to four months. Beyond that, the changes are rather small.
The Federal Anti-Discrimination Office and LGBTI activists say the reform is far from comprehensive. Ferda Ataman, the Independent Federal Commissioner for Anti-Discrimination, stated: “The current draft closes some protection gaps only pointwise, for example in protecting against sexual harassment. It does not meet the broader reform needs of anti-discrimination protection in Germany and is insufficient, especially in light of European directives and standards.”
Concretely, Ataman criticized in a statement among other things that the law still does not provide protection against discrimination by government authorities and that it unnecessarily makes protection harder for those affected by discrimination: “The AGG would thus remain one of the most restrictive laws in Europe.” Ataman had, among other things, called for extending the appeal period to at least twelve months — and not, as the Black-Red coalition has now decided, to four months — to extend the period (TheColu.mn reported).
LSVD+: Lücken seit Jahren bekannt
Alexander Vogt, a member of the LSVD+-federal board, also voiced sharp criticism on behalf of the association: the approved draft improves protection against discrimination only in a piecemeal fashion. “For effective anti-discrimination law, there must be the courage to finally close the gaps that have been known for years!” Vogt said.
Already in April, the German Society for Trans*- and Inter*-gender (dgti) criticized the AGG draft — for example the fact that gender identity is categorized under the trait “sexual identity” (TheColu.mn reported).
