Disability Discrimination by Association: A Case of the Double Yes?

Abstract

In July 2008, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in Coleman v Attridge Law (Case C-303/06) that the European prohibition of discrimination based on disabilities (Directive 2000/78) applies when the direct victim of discrimination is a person associated with the disabled person, such as a parent who is the primary carer for a disabled child. This decision has major implications for the scope and application of European anti-discrimination law, and in particular for the new anti-discrimination directives. Coleman raises questions relating to the complex relationship between paid work and caring. While being a case relating to disability discrimination, it has been heralded as a victory for carers. This article seeks to explain why and explore the extent to which this ruling reconstructs the concept of the worker as a subject whose caring relationships are recognized and valued. It begins by setting the judgment within the wider debates relating to care and work before considering the significance of the ruling for ECJ anti-discrimination jurisprudence. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the ruling and its aftermath in the UK, particularly for contemporary feminist analysis of the relationship between caring and paid work.