Federal Labor Court on the works council's right to information about the names of severely disabled employees

November 17, 2023

The Federal Labor Court In a resolution dated May 9.5.2023, 1 (case number: 14 ABR 22/XNUMX), the works council's right to information about the names of severely disabled employees was decided. The works council followed suit § 80 paragraph 2 sentence 1 half. 1 BetrVG Right to information about the names of severely disabled employees and employees with equal status. There are no data protection reasons that conflict with the right to information.

1. FACTS

Those involved are arguing about the works council's right to information. The employer provides waste disposal services and, among other things, maintains a company in K. The applicant works council exists in this company.

The works council demanded that the employer submit a list of all severely disabled people and disabled people of equal status employed in the company. The employer then simply provided information that the threshold for electing a representative for severely disabled people in the company had been reached.

The works council then requested that the employer be obliged to provide it with information about the number and names of severely disabled people and people with equivalent status employed in company K within the meaning of § 2 SGB IX granted.

The Karlsruhe labor court granted the application. The Baden-Württemberg State Labor Court rejected the employer's complaint. The employer's legal complaint before the Federal Labor Court was also unsuccessful.

2. DECISION

According to the Federal Labor Court, the works council had to § 80 paragraph 2 sentence 1 half. 1 BetrVGRight to information about the names of severely disabled employees and employees with equal status. According to the BAG, the works council had explained the necessary task reference because it had shown that it was responsible for the performance of in Section 80 Paragraph 1 No. 4 BetrVG iVm § 176 sentence 1 and sentence 2 half. 1, § 164 Paragraph 4 Sentence 1 Nos. 1, 4 and 5 as well as Paragraph 5 Sentence 3 SGB IX the above-mentioned tasks are incumbent.

From the interpretation of the relevant standards it follows that the above-mentioned support and monitoring tasks of the works council apply to all severely disabled employees and those with equal status, including senior employees in the sense of Section 5 Paragraph 3 BetrVG to capture.

The essential necessity of the information sought by the works council for the right to information Section 80 Paragraph 2 Sentence 1 BetrVG In the opinion of the BAG, this is the case because the works council needs the names of all severely disabled employees and employees of equal status known to the employer who are employed in the company in order to carry out its tasks. Only then can he monitor whether these employees are able to fully utilize and further develop their skills and knowledge within the scope of their employment (Section 164 Paragraph 4 Sentence 1 No. 1 SGB IX), whether their workplaces are equipped with the necessary aids (Section 164 Paragraph 4 Sentence 1 No. 5 SGB IX) and whether shorter working hours may be necessary for them due to the nature or severity of their disability (Section 164 Paragraph 5 Sentence 3 SGB IX).

The works council's right to information exists regardless of whether the affected employees have given their consent because the wording of the law does not contain such a restriction. The fulfillment of the tasks assigned to the works council by law is not dependent on the consent of the employees. Since the works council only requires the disclosure of the names of those employees whose severe disabilities or equal status are known to the employer, the employer's objection that severely disabled employees and employees of equal status are not obliged to disclose their status to the employer is therefore irrelevant.

There are no data protection reasons that conflict with the right to information. In the BAG's opinion, the requested data should be passed on to the works council § 26 paragraph 3 in conjunction with. Section 22 Paragraph 2 BDSG permitted.

3. CONCLUSION

The decision of the Federal Labor Court strengthens the rights of works councils in Germany and underlines their importance in supporting severely disabled people and people of equal status. Employers are advised to carefully examine requests for information from works councils and not to reject them across the board based on data protection concerns in order to prevent any legal protection proceedings. On the other hand, releasing personal data too carelessly should be avoided. It must always be checked whether there is a corresponding task reference.