With the globalization of business activity, more Americans than ever work overseas and more international companies do business here in the United States. Now the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released a series of fact sheets outlining the responsibilities and rights of multinational employers and their employees under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Companies Operating in the U.S.
According to the EEOC, multinational employers operating in the U.S. or its territories regardless of where they are incorporated or where their headquarters are located must follow American antibias laws just as U.S. employers do. This is true unless the employer is covered by a binding international agreement that limits the application of U.S. antidiscrimination laws.
Americans Employed by Firms Operating Outside the U.S. Are Also Protected
A company must follow American antibias laws for U.S. citizens it employs outside the country if the company is based or incorporated in the U.S. or if it’s controlled by a U.S. company. Note, however, that our antibias laws would not apply to non-U.S. citizens who work at a multinational organization outside the United States or its territories.
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To determine whether a company is controlled by a U.S. employer, the EEOC says to examine whether: 1) the employers’ operations are interrelated; 2) there is common management; 3) there is centralized control of labor relations; and 4) there is common ownership or financial control.
Employers that have “sufficient connections” with the U.S. are also subject to our antibias laws. The EEOC says these factors are relevant in determining whether there are sufficient connections: 1) the employer’s principal place of business; 2) the nationality of dominant shareholders or those with voting control; and 3) the nationality and location of the company’s officers and directors.
Foreign Laws Defense
The EEOC points out, however, that a multinational company doesn’t have to comply with American anti-bias laws if doing so would violate the law of the country where the employee’s workplace is located. But a U.S. employer cannot transfer an employee to another country to avoid EEO obligations or to take actions prohibited by U.S. laws. For example, it would be illegal to transfer an older worker to a country with a mandatory retirement age to force the worker to retire.