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Written Assignment 6: Employment Laws

Department of Business Administration, University of the People

BUS 5511: Human Resource Management

Dr. Penny Macdonald

October 12, 2022

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Introduction

Employment laws are defined as legal practices which cover the rights, obligations, and responsibility

between employers and employees (The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2022).

Employment laws govern many different aspects of employee and employers right for example, regulating

hiring, wages, hours, discrimination, benefits, paid time off, privacy and other important issues concerning

workplace and employee rights issues (Doyle, 2022). In the US, Department of Labor is responsible for

implementation of employment laws. There are more than 180 federal laws which regulate employment wages

and hours, workplace safety and health, worker's compensation, employee benefit security, union and their

member, employee protection just to name some (U.S. Department of Labor, 2022a). In this paper I have

review US and Mexico employment laws and compare them to better understand the importance of developing

and implementation of international employment policy.

US Employment Law

The Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) is implemented by the US Department of Labor which deals

with wages, overtime, hours worked, recordkeeping, and child labor it covers employees in both public and

private sectors in federal, state, and local governments. In the US a work week is 40 hours and minimum

federal wage is $7.25 per hour, hours above 40 per week is considered overtime with wages not less than one-

and one-half times the regular pay rate (U.S. Department of Labor, 2022b). The main aspects of the act are as

following:

• Minimum wage: The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour but it can various based on states.

Some state the minimum state wages are higher, so employees earn more per hour.

• Overtime: Hours worked above 40 hours per week is considered overtime and is mandated to

received one and one half time the regular payrate.

• Hours worked: According FLSA, hours work is time employee spend in employer's establishment it

could be any location defined by employers as workplace.

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• Recordkeeping: Employers are required to post the FLSA rules and regulation somewhere in the

business premises where employees can see also, they are required to keep track of employees’ time

and pay records.

• Child Labor: It is another important aspect of FLSA act aimed to protect minors who are in school

age, to acquire education and aimed to protect their health and well-being (U.S. Department of Labor,

2022b).

Mexico Employment Law

The country I have compared the US employment law is Mexico. Employment law in Mexico is governed by

Secretariate of Labor and Social Welfare. This law oversees aspects such as wages, working hours, types of

contracts, and information about leave allowances which are briefly define below:

• Wages: According to country's employment law the minimum daily wage is $172.87 Mexican Pesos

which is around $8.06 US dollars (Rodriguez et al., 2021).

• Working hours: According to Mexico employment law the working week is made of 48 hours per

week which consist of 6-day work and one day off. Employer are required to paid 25% premium on

hours work on Sunday

• Contracts: Based on Mexico employment laws there are three different types of contracts. First,

indefinite period contracts which are a mutual agreement between employer and employee. Second,

definite period contracts are used for jobs that are completed within definite amount of time such as a

specific project. Third, seasonal contracts are used for specific work during specific periods of a year.

• Leave allowances: There are different type of leaves allowed under the law. Maternity and paternity

leave for mothers totaling 12 weeks. Sick leave is paid by the social security fund for up to 52 weeks.

Bereavement leave is not mentioned under the law, but terms can be agreed upon to be mentioned on

the contract (Legal Team Mexico, 2022).

Differences between Laws and Developing International Corporate Employment Policy

There are some similarities and differences when we compare employment laws of the U.S. and

Mexico. Following is some of the main similarities and differences:

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• Employer and Employee Rights: the similarities of the employment law in both the US and Mexico

are these laws cover important legal practices between employers and employees.

• Proportion of Wages: there is vast different in wages in paid by employers in the US and Mexico. In

US the minimum federal hourly wages are $7.25, however, in the Mexico the daily minimum wages

are around $8.06.

• Hours Worked: Another difference in employment laws are hours worked. In the US total hours

worked in a week is 40 hours, on the other hand, Mexico work week consist of 48 hours per week.

• Other differences: The US employment law does not cover time off such as sick leave or holidays,

whereas it is stated in Mexico's employment law for employers to follow. Overall, when these two

laws are compared the US employment law which is implemented by the US labor department is more

restrict and has severe implication if it is not followed for example recordkeeping and child labor

issues. Mexican employment law also states important rule that must be followed but employer and

employee can agree on different terms.

Obviously, the US and Mexico are two different countries with many similarities and different which define

the requirement to develop employment regulations and laws based on country's needs. When a business wants

to go international it required to develop and implement an international employment policy. In this case

expanding to Mexico means understanding the rules, regulation, and laws of home country, the US, and the

country to which business is expanding, Mexico. Based on understanding the laws of both countries a policy

must be established to guide the process.

Explanation and Steps to Follow for Implementation of Employment Policy

Understand the Laws when Developing Employment Policy

It is essential for HR professional to understand most important and fundamental employment laws of

host country. Based on that understanding they must develop a policy that can be used to specify needs and

requirements of employment terms. It must be used to set up company's HR polices and stay compliant with

host country specific rules and regulations.

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Define the Policy Terms and Ensure Employees' Understand

Sometime understanding policy terms can be difficult therefore It is critical to explain the purpose of the

employment policy so employees know rules and regulations that must be obeyed and has directed impact on

them. There must be a policy statement describing the substance of the employment policy. Accordingly, all

important terms such as wages, hours, contracts, leaves allowances etc. must be clearly defined and elaborated

upon so employee understand those terms and know what the impact of those policies are on their daily work.

At the same time HR professional must ensure policy is not violating host country's employment laws.

Once the employment policy is established and approve by the leadership of the organization. HR

Professional must start implementation. It is their responsibility to make the expats are aware of the rule and

regulation of host country through training and other employee assistant programs. It is important for them to

know the challenge they will be facing; therefore, they must plan ahead and have contingency plan on hand

before facing those challenges. This will ensure both HR professional, expats and international staff are

equipped with tools and skills set that will help them achieve organizational objectives and goals.

Conclusion

Employment laws are one of the most important laws of a country governing righters, obligations, and

responsibility between employers and employees to ensure rights of each side is clear and they understand

their commitment toward each other. Different countries have different employment laws, it is critical for an

organization to have an international employment policy when it is expanding globally to manage its

personnel. HR professional play key role in toward implementation of the policy. Correct development and

implementation of international employment policy for a company will ensure satisfied staff and successful

operations.
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References

Doyle, A. (2022, September 19). US Federal Employment and Labor Laws. The Balance.

https://www.thebalancemoney.com/list-of-employment-laws-2062282

Legal Team Mexico. (2022, January 11). Employment Law in Mexico: a Guide. Biz Latin Hub.

https://www.bizlatinhub.com/employment-law-mexico/

Rodriguez, P., Mareno, N., Badillo, N., & Espada, A. (2021, December 2). Mexico’s New Minimum Wage for

2022. Ogletree Deakins. https://ogletree.com/insights/mexicos-new-minimum-wage-for-2022/

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. (2022). Employment Law. CIPD.

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/emp-law

U.S. Department of Labor. (2022a). Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor.

https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/majorlaws

U.S. Department of Labor. (2022b). Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa