MacBook Display not conform to german workstation regulations

Question

Hello all,
I wanted to replace my old PowerBook G4 with one of the new MacBooks/MacBooks Pro. But one huge obstacle is the display. I want to use my notebook for work.
German regulations for workstations with computers say that the srceen must be free of reflexions.
The german regulations are derived from european regulations. So I think that in EU these new MacBooks are not conform with regulations for use on computer workstations.
An employer in Germany can be fined with up to 25000 EUR when ignoring regulations regarding safety on (computer) workstations.
I do not think, that it was a clever step to remove the option for the matte display. Employers will think twice before supplying their employees with reflecting screens.

Answer 1

I preface this by saying I'm not an attorney here in the US, much less licensed to practice law in Germany. That having been said, my understanding of the English translation (the accuracy of which I can't really gauge, given that I don't speak more than a few stock phrases of German) that someone linked to below is this:
There's an exception made for "'portable' systems not in prolonged use at a workstation" so some computers would be 100% exempt. For those computers that are in use for prolonged periods...
Just before the section on reflective screens is the requirement that "the screen must swivel and tilt easily and freely to suit the needs of the operator. +It shall be possible to use a separate base for the screen or an adjustable table+" (emphasis mine) which would indicate that, absent the use of an external monitor and/or mouse and keyboard, no laptop would be acceptable as a primary workstation, regardless of the type of screen used.
As to the issue of the glossyness of the screens of the new MBPs specifically....
The translation reads "the screen shall be free of reflective glare and reflections +liable to cause discomfort to the user+" and again, the emphasis is mine. The ban, therefore, isn't on glossy or highly reflected screens, only those that would be likely to cause user discomfort. That leaves a ton of wiggle room.
Beyond which, I keep hearing about sales figures of glossy screens on the previous generation of MBPs heavily surpassing sales of non-glossy screens, and if that is in fact true (I don't have any documentation to link to that supports this, it's purely hearsay), I imagine a strong argument could be made that Apple's displays, while glossy and reflective, are not "liable to cause discomfort to the user." That is, millions of people have chosen glossy screens when they had the non-glossy option, and that could be considered evidence to the fact that their screens don't cause discomfort.
(This isn't intended to say that they do or don't-- I have no desire to see the matte-vs-glossy debate rear its head right now. It's merely meant to say that before dropping a matte option, Apple likely did a measure of research into consumer preferences and determined that the number of users who found glossy screens to "cause discomfort" was not significant enough to remove a matte option. I may be wrong as to Apple's own research, and there may be equal or more compelling evidence to the contrary. I'm not aware of any scientific study conducted to support either side with respect to matte-vs-glossy on a general basis, much less an Apple-specific study. The statement that there is any evidence that Apple's MBP displays don't cause discomfort is pure conjecture.)
In short, if employers can get around the "separate base ... or adjustable table" issue, I can't imagine that they can't get around the reflective screens issue, considering that built into the ban is a loophole.
Again though, I'm not authorized to offer legal advice in any country, so this is a 100% lay opinion. Too, it's an opinion based on a translation so the validity of the opinion is entirely dependent on the accuracy of the translation.