On September 15, 2015, the European Court of Justice (Court)  ruled that member states of the European Union may exclude Union citizens who go to that state in search of a job from certain non-contributory social security benefits without violating the principle of equal treatment. The Alimanovic family, Swedish citizens originally from Bosnia, moved to Germany in 2010. After their arrival, two family members had held several temporary jobs lasting less than one year and had received unemployment and subsistence benefits from 2011 to 2012 when German authorities stopped the payments, arguing these allowances were “social assistance” not intended for foreign job seekers whose right of residence arose solely out of the search for employment. The Court agreed, finding that “the predominant function of the benefits at issue in the main proceedings is in fact to cover the minimum subsistence costs necessary to lead a life in keeping with human dignity” and therefore they “cannot be characterised as benefits of a financial nature which are intended to facilitate access to the labour market of a Member State.” Because the Court characterized the benefits in question as social assistance, the Free Movement of Citizens Directive (Directive) applies, which grants EU citizens equal treatment with nationals of the host member state in only two circumstances, neither of which applies to the Alimanovic family. The Court further clarified that the Directive contains a gradual design for the determination of worker status and “itself takes into consideration various factors characterising the individual situation of the applicant for social assistance” thus relieving the member state from carrying out an individualized assessment.