There are obviously many laws that affect human rights globally. These laws originate at the international, national, state/provincial, and municipality levels. So at any time, your organization may be subject to regulations from several organizations at once. Balancing these requirements for your organization can be a challenge, but with an understanding of culture and diversity navigating this challenge should be easier. One other thing that is important to note about diversity and regulations is that not all things that make us diverse have laws associated with them, or those things may have only partial legal coverage. For instance, in the United States there are no federal laws that protect individuals with regard to hair color, and the federal age laws only protect people age 40 and older. United States In the United States, there are many laws governing employment and diversity (Drexel University, n.d.). Some of those laws originate at the federal level, some at the state level, and some even at the city level. Several key laws are related to work organizations. We will visit a few here, but these are constantly being revised, updated, and added to, so it is important to stay abreast the current legal changes. Some of the important ones to keep in mind, though, are the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin (as well as the pregnancy discrimination act that was later amended); the age discrimination act of 1967, which prohibits discriminating against people over the age of 40 in employment; and the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 which prohibits discriminating against people with disabilities if they are able to perform the job. Obviously, there are many more laws that will affect your organization, and they can be found in a variety of places. The Department of Labor and the Department of Justice are just two of the major ones in the United States. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the organization responsible for enforcing federal discrimination laws. Their website is particularly helpful in navigating the diversity laws. Other Countries' Human Resources Regulations and Organizations Other countries obviously have their own laws regarding human rights, so as a global leader it is important to make sure that your organization is in line with local laws and regulations. Don’t assume that they are the same as (or similar to) your home country. Typically, local laws will supersede organizational ones, so your organization may need to adjust for regional differences. Remember our discussion about different cultures valuing different things? What is seen as diversity in one country may not be seen as diversity in another. Diversity can be incredibly important in some cultures, while in others it may not be seen consciously at all. There are many websites with lists of international laws and governing agencies (Charney, Loewenberg, Ainslie, Darbourne, Griffin, Scheicht, & Nickels, 2011). If your organization operates in multiple countries, it is highly recommended that you investigate each country's laws.
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