Participation in Potsdam secret meeting does not justify extraordinary dismissal
The 64-year-old participated in a meeting of AfD politicians, members of the conservative Values Union, extremists, and entrepreneurs in Potsdam last November, where, according to investigations by the Correctiv Network, the expulsion of millions of people with migration background from Germany was reportedly discussed. This caused nationwide outrage.
The plaintiff, who has been employed by the city of Cologne since the year 2000 and most recently served as a central contact person for complaints management in the Environmental Office, is a member of the conservative Values Union and was previously the deputy federal chair.
The city of Cologne issued several extraordinary termination notices to the employee and justified this by stating that she had violated her loyalty obligation towards her employer by participating in a meeting with alleged extremists and discussing migration plans.
The labor court did not agree. The employee was subject to a simple and not a heightened political loyalty obligation. Therefore, a significant ground that would justify an extraordinary termination was lacking, the court ruled. The loyalty duty for public employees includes, among other things, the requirement that they uphold the liberal-democratic constitutional order in accordance with the Basic Law.
The court stated that the amount of loyalty and loyalty to the public employer depends on the position and duties of the respective employee. An employee owes their employer only such a measure of political loyalty that is necessary for the functioning of their work.
This simple loyalty duty, according to the court, is only violated when someone actively promotes or implements unconstitutional goals. Merely participating in the meeting does not justify the conclusion that the plaintiff found inner agreement with the content of the contributions discussed there.
The labor court also declared another extraordinary termination notice from March invalid. The allegation that the 64-year-old had given a false oath in the course of a court proceeding does not apply. The judgment is not legally binding. An appeal against the judgment can be filed at the Labor Court in Cologne.
- Despite the labor court's ruling, the AfD in Potsdam continues to advocate for remigration policies, a controversial topic in the environment of Germany's labor laws.
- The participant in the secret meeting, now a former employee of the city of Cologne, was involved in discussions about migration plans, a controversial topic that raised questions about her loyalty towards her employer.
- The labor court in Cologne, where the remigration discussion's implications for the plaintiff's employment were adjudicated, ruled that her participation in the meeting did not warrant an extraordinary termination.
- The 64-year-old's participation in a Potsdam meeting with AfD politicians and extremists, which reportedly touched on migration topics, did not violate her simple loyalty duty to her employer, according to the labor court's decision.
- The city of Cologne's justification for terminating the environmental complaint manager's position included the argument that she betrayed her loyalty obligation by participating in a meeting with alleged extremists, a claim that was rejected by the labor court.
- The labor court's ruling on the invalidity of the March termination notice, which cited false oath allegations, upheld the 64-year-old's right to participate in meetings on controversial topics, preserving her right to participate in German political discussions until an appeal can be filed.
