The service union Verdi has filed a lawsuit against the new shop closing law in Bavaria with the Federal Constitutional Court. The union announced this action on Thursday.
Verdi argues that the law, which the Bavarian State Parliament passed in July 2025, represents a significant violation of the constitutionally protected Sunday and public holiday rest. As a precursor, seven plaintiffs, backed by Verdi, had already filed a public lawsuit with the Bavarian Administrative Court in January 2026.
Luise Klemens, the Verdi state leader for Bavaria, sharply criticized the deregulation within the shop closing law, calling it a “general attack on employees in Bavarian retail, their families, and society.” She emphasized that the Bavarian state government is ignoring the negative impacts these changes will have on workers.
Thomas Gürlebeck, Verdi’s regional manager for trade in Bavaria, stated that the state government essentially handed the legislation over to “facilitate the big trade corporations.” He warned that the law would lead to intensified competitive displacement within the retail sector. Verdi stated its commitment to fighting this “illegal and corporation-friendly law” by “all means possible.”
