DISCRIMINAZIONI NELL’ACCESSO AL LAVORO PER GLI STRANIERI REGOLARMENTE SOGGIORNANTI

Starting from a 2026 judgment of the Tribunal of Milan, which found that a temporary work agency had discriminated against third-country nationals by excluding from recruitment any applicant whose residence permit would expire before the end of the assignment, the paper reconstructs the legal framework governing work and residence permit renewal under Italian immigration law. It then examines the discriminatory nature of the recruitment policy, arguing that it amounted to direct, rather than indirect, discrimination on grounds of nationality, and that the disadvantage it caused was far from “minor”. The paper also shows how the criminal offence laid down in Article 22(12) of the Consolidated Act on Immigration ends up discouraging employers from hiring even lawfully resident migrants. Finally, it highlights the role of trade unions in strategic litigation against discrimination.