INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE EMPLOYMENT POLICY 1

International Corporate Employment Policy

Dr. Lu Yu
University of the People
10 March 2021
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International Corporate Employment Policy

Let us assume we work in Technology firm called Adulis Technology Services in Los

Angeles, California. This company wanted to open an office in Ethiopia. We will compare and

contrast one employment law for each country. The law we will chose will be LGBT employment.

LGBT employment discrimination in the United States is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights

Act of 1964; employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is

encompassed by the law's prohibition of employment discrimination on the basis of sex. On the

other hand, Homosexuality is illegal in Ethiopia and penalties can range from 10 days to three

years, according to the UN Refugee Agency. There is a maximum sentence of 10 years that can be

imposed if an offender "uses violence, intimidation or coercion, trickery or fraud, or takes unfair

advantage of the victim’s inability to offer resistance."

As we can see above there is a major difference in the chosen employment law that needs

to be addressed to propose International corporate employment policy. The law I identified above

is major and need to be considered as the company tends to go international. Before we generalize

the concept, what will be the underlying issues to check regarding this specific human resource

employment? LGBT employees in the united states may think it is allowed to act that way in other

countries and they might get fined or go to prison in Ethiopia. Therefore, the company needs to

take this into consideration is there is relocation to different countries so that these employees

should know the rules and regulations in the country.

When designing a cross-border human resource policies, global codes of conduct and so

on, we should follow the following nine steps: Number of versions, Non-conforming Documents,

Dual Employer, Collective Consultation, Translation, Communication, Distribution and

Acknowledgement, Government Filings, Vesting Rights, and Backstopping. A multinational

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rolling out a new cross-border code of conduct, HR policy or benefits plan should decide whether

to issue one single global document worldwide, bifurcate a headquarters version from a “rest-of-

the-world” version, or spin off distinct local versions or riders for each relevant country. (Dowling,

2018) Non-confirming document refers to issuing a revised or updated international code of

conduct, HR policy or benefits plan needs to repeal all earlier versions.

Dual Employer refers to how multinational’s overseas staff typically work on the payroll

of locally incorporated subsidiary affiliates. Collective Consultation means employee

representatives are common like work councils, trade union cells, health and safety committees,

employee advocates, employee delegations, worker ombudsman and so on. Translation, some

countries require the work rules be communicated in the local language. Therefore, it has to be

checked if that is the case in Ethiopia. Communication, Distribution and Acknowledgement refers

to developing a proactive strategy for communicating and distributing any cross-border HR

document to oversee staff in a way that requires them to comply.

Publicly traded American companies regularly file codes of conduct. insider trading

policies, whistle-blower hotline policies and stock option plans with the U.S. federal government.

Vested Rights refers to how the headquarters initiative to launch a new international code of

conduct is neutral to employees, or at least does not materially cut pay or terms/conditions of

employment. Backstopping is crucial in developing codes of conducts and employment policies.

A best practice for a multinational that failed properly to implement its current package of cross-

border codes of conduct, work rules, HR policies and international benefits offerings is to

backstop— go back and correct past oversights in implementation.

By following the above procedures, we can prepare an International Corporate

Employment Policy that covers LGBT laws in the two countries. Some of the changes are:
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• to state that LGBT travelers may face unique challenges traveling abroad,

• subject to the laws of the country where you travel.

• Be cautious of potentially risky situations.

• Watch out for entrapment campaigns. Police in some countries monitor websites,

mobile apps, or meeting places, so be cautious connecting with the local

community.

• Be wary of new-found “friends.” Criminals may target or attempt to extort

LGBTI foreigners.

• Some resorts or LGBTI neighborhoods can be quite segregated. Be aware

attitudes in surrounding areas can be much less accepting.

By incorporating the above points, it is possible to draft the policy. To minimize any potential

problems, it is important to recruit local talent in that country instead of relocating from here.
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References

Dowling, D. (2018, April 11). How to launch international hr policies. Retrieved March 10,

2021, from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/global-hr/pages/how-to-

launch-international-hr-policies.aspx

Tim, H. (2019). U.S. department of state. Retrieved March 10, 2021, from

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-

special-considerations/lgbti.html