Labor laws come in all shapes and sizes and in the United States we need to comply with both federal and state laws.  For the most part they are created to protect employees, but while good intentioned can be costly and time consuming for companies to ensure compliance.  However, we are not alone.  Below are a few labor laws from around the world that have not yet reached our country.

• In 2000, France reduced their workweek to 35 hours so that any hours work over this level would qualify for overtime pay.  The goal was not just to improve quality of life, but also to reduce the high level of unemployment that existed.  Then in 2017 the French took this a step further with their “Right to Disconnect” law that frees employees from having to respond to electronic communications (emails, texts, phone calls, etc.) after hours.
• Japan passed its “Metabo Law” in 2008 requiring all employers and local governments to annually measure the waists of each of their employees over age 40.  All men with waists over 33.5 inches and women with waists over 35.4 inches are then required to enroll in weight loss classes for three months.  The law was in response to rising obesity rates, which are lower in Japan than most other developed nations, and imposes financial penalties on companies that do not meet participation and health targets.
• China has always had different retirement ages for men and women.  Men had to wait until age 60 to retire, while women could retire as early as 50 or 55, depending on whether they had a while collar or blue collar job.  That all changed in 2018 though when the retirement age was increased to 65 for both men and women.
• In Saudi Arabia, men are banned from working in women’s lingerie stores.  The intent of the law was to both limit the mixing of sexes in that environment, but also had the goal of providing women more opportunity to work.  In 2011, the ban was extended to include all women’s clothing stores and cosmetic stores and any stores that fail to comply would be forced to close.

While U.S. labor laws are not yet as extreme as the ones above, they can be confusing and seem to be changing every year.  Yet noncompliance can have significant financial consequences.  As a small business owner this may sometimes seem daunting, but there is an easy and cost effective solution to navigate these government regulations.  Contact Total Team Solutions, a full service human resource outsourcing company that can provide you with a cost effective solution for all of your payroll, employee benefits, employee matters and regulatory compliance issues.  For more information, contact John Morlock at 800-836-9678 or jmorlock@ttspro.com.