British Appellate Court Says EU Employment Discrimination Directives Do Not Cover Volunteers

In an important ruling in X v. Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau, (EWCA, Jan. 26, 2011), the England and Wales Court of Appeal held that volunteers are not covered by the EU directives requiring equal treatment in employment and occupation.  In a release supporting the result, the Christian Institute (which had intervened in the case) said that the decision protects churches that use volunteers from being "forced to navigate a minefield of equality laws that threaten religious liberty."