A disciplinary procedure has been initiated in western Germany against a teacher who has been on sick leave for more than 15 years.

The western city of Dusseldorf has opened proceedings against the teacher, a spokesman for the education ministry in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia confirmed to the DPA news agency on Saturday.

The teacher's case became public through a legal dispute.

In mid-August, the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia ruled that the teacher could be examined by a medical officer.

This confirmed the state's position which, as the woman's employer, ordered the examination in April to determine whether the civil servant was fit to return to work.

The woman had taken the matter to the Dusseldorf Administrative Court, arguing that ordering a psycho

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