Same but Different – Similarities and Differences between US and German Anti-Discrimination Laws

Content

Anti-discrimination laws play a huge role when it comes to employment law in the United States. For instance, US companies are well advised to design their hiring and promotion policies in strict accordance with anti-discrimination laws in order to avoid significant financial damage. Moreover, the vast majority of employment litigation is about discrimination in the employment relationship in the United States. In Germany, however, relevance of anti-discrimination laws has by far not reached the same level as in the Unites States – even though the concepts of both US and German anti-discrimination laws show many similarities. What are those similarities and what makes the difference when it comes to relevance in both jurisdictions? And is there a chance / risk that anti-discrimination laws in Germany will amount to the same level of relevance as in the US in the future?

Outline

• Concept and structure of substantive anti-discrimination laws in the US and Germany
• "Disparate treatment" and "unmittelbare Diskriminierung"
• "Disparate impact" and "mittelbare Diskirminierung"
• The role of statistics in the US and Germany
• Damages, remedies and procedures under US and German law
• Affirmative Action in the US and Germany
• The future of anti-discrimination laws in Europe and Germany

Speakers

Professor Richard Bales teaches employment discrimination, labor and employment law, international human rights and international employment law, civil procedure, torts, and various courses on negotiations and arbitration. His permanent teaching home is Ohio Northern University, though he is visiting this year at University of Akron. Prior to his teaching career he litigated employment cases with law firms in Texas. Prof. Bales received his juris doctor from Cornell University and is the author of various scholarly articles and co-author of many books on employment law, employment arbitration, alternative dispute resolution, labor law and arbitration. His most recent book, Cambridge Handbook of US Labor Law: Reinventing Labor Law for the 21st Century (co-edited with Charlotte Garden), will be published in January 2020.

Please note that Professor Bales will speak instead of Professor Estreicher who was originally announced to be a co-speaker.

Dr. Daniel Hund is a partner at BEITEN BURKHARDT‘s Munich office and a member of the Labor & Employment Law practice group. Mr. Hund studied law in Heidelberg and New York, after having worked as a banker for several years. He holds a Doctor of Laws from the University of Heidelberg and a Master of Laws from New York University School of Law. He is the author of various articles about labor and employment law and author as well as co-author of several books (e.g. Tschöpe Arbeitsrecht Handbuch, 11th edition) and is a regular speaker on the topic. In his practice, he focuses, inter alia, on international employment law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the International Bar Association as well as the European Employment Lawyers Association.