Employers in European Union countries can ban employees from wearing visible symbols of religion such as Islamic headscarves and Christian crosses, a top European court ruled Tuesday. The European ...

The federal government’s new legislation outlawing the public display of “prohibited symbols” — one of which is the flag of the “Islamic State” terrorist group — in a perverse way ...

The court ruling came after a Belgian employee was told she could not wear an Islamic headscarf. ... The headscarf and other "conspicuous" religious symbols were banned in state schools in 2004.

The May 18, 2004 memorandum introduced a list of symbols and outfits "the wearing of which leads to immediate recognition of one's religious affiliation" (Islamic headscarf, kippah, large cross).