Cour de Cassation civile (Chambre Sociale)

In Appeal No. 18-17.042, the French Supreme Court confirms that Law no. 2015-994 of 17 August 2015 relating to social dialogue and employment, known as the Rebsamen Law, legally requires trade union organizations to comply with the principle of balanced representation of women and men when drawing up candidate lists for professional elections. This obligation does not constitute a disproportionate infringement of trade union freedom.

The complainant was the Human Resources manager of her company and claimed back-pay arising out of the company’s alleged gender discrimination and gender-pay gap. She contested the pay disparity in comparison to her male colleagues who performed similar tasks, had similar responsibilities, had a similar classification, and occupied a similar place in the company hierarchy. Before this decision, a pay gap could not ground an allegation of discrimination on the basis of sex where the relevant employees exercised different functions.