In NH v Associazione Avvocatura per i diritti LGBTI, a lawyer had stated, in an interview given during a radio programme, that he would not wish to recruit homosexual persons to his firm nor to use the services of such persons in his firm. An association of lawyers that defends the rights of LGBT persons in court proceedings brought a claim for damages. The Italian Supreme Court asked the ECJ whether the lawyer’s comments constituted a breach of the Equal Treatment Directive. The ECJ ruled that a statement suggesting there is a homophobic recruitment policy is within the concept of ‘conditions for access to employment/occupation’ where there is a non-hypothetical link between that statement and the employer’s recruitment policy. Therefore, homophobic statements constitute discrimination when they are made by a person who has or may be perceived as having a decisive influence on an employer’s recruitment practices and procedures. In such a case, national law may provide that an association has the right to bring legal proceedings in order to claim damages even if no injured party can be identified.
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