German courts rule on maternity pay and interest claims

The Social Court of Darmstadt has ruled in favor of an airline regarding the reimbursement of maternity protection wages for breastfeeding flight attendants. The court determined that health insurance providers cannot limit these reimbursements based on the child's age, specifically rejecting a two-year limit. The ruling establishes that the claim remains valid as long as the employees cannot be deployed in flight services due to breastfeeding requirements, noting a lack of legal basis in the Maternity Protection Act for such time limits.

In a separate legal matter, the Federal Labour Court (BAG) addressed a dispute concerning claims for default interest due to delayed salary payments. The case involved a long-term judicial employee in North Rhine-Westphalia seeking back pay and interest following a reclassification of her pay grade under the collective agreement for the public service of the states (TV-L).