The practice of “AGG hopping” has recently received renewed media attention in Germany. This topic has occupied employers and courts for many years and may give rise to significant, yet avoidable, liability risks. In this practice, individuals submit job applications not with the aim of obtaining the advertised position, but rather to provoke an allegedly discriminatory rejection, enabling the rejected applicant to assert claims for damages and/or, in particular, compensation under the General Act on Equal Treatment (“AGG”). In practice, AGG hopping typically targets alleged discrimination based on gender, age or severe disability.
Criteria Established by Case Law
The list of court rulings on AGG hopping is extensive. Over the years, specific criteria have been established in case law in this regard.
According to the German Federal Labor Court (judgment of September 19, 2024 – Case No.: 8 AZR 21/24), an abuse of rights (Section 242 German Civil Code (BGB)) exists if, upon consideration of all circumstances of the individual case, it becomes apparent that the applicant did not apply in order to obtain the advertised position, but solely sought to gain the formal status of an applicant in order to...
[Sportschosun Jang Jong-ho] A total of 34.789 billion won in false National Health Insurance claims was detected at 839 health care institutions over the past four years (2022-2025). According to d...