Hiring Alien Executives in Compliance With U.S. Civil Rights Laws
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This paper analyzes the implicationsof the Itohcase in terms of the relevance and feasibilityof applyingU. S. civil rightsstatutes to U. S.-based affiliatesof foreign MNCs and the consequences of such enforcementon the operations of these Americanaffiliates.Whereas classificationof U. S. subsidiarystaff as expatriateand local for purposes of determiningcompensationand promotability may be manageriallysound from the viewpointof the foreignmultinationalparent,underthe civilrightslaws of the United States it may be considered a formof discrimination.How might such a situationbe reconciled? The issues involvedare by no means simple eitheras to fact or as to law. Forexample: 1. Should a foreign MNChave a right to bring its own people (foreignnationals)into the UnitedStates for specific managementjobs or must it hire people (locals) in the U. S. if similarlyqualifiedpeople are available, particularlyif the foreign MNChas a psychological predisposition to hire its own people for certain top managerialjobs in its U. S. and overseas operations? 2. The comparativesimilarityof candidate qualificationsand the job functionsmay be more apparentthan real. A foreign MNCmay have a differentmanagerialphilosophy and operations style that are the products of the particularsocioculturalmilieuof its home country and people. This difference in management philosophyand operating style may make it difficult,if not impossible, to make any direct comparison of job specificationsor of individualqualificationsas to suitabilityforcertainjobs. Whatcriteria can be used for comparingjob performanceand individualqualificationsunder those circumstances? 3. When a foreign MNCuses its own people for certain jobs with its U. S. affiliate because it considers those jobs highlysensitive and important,not only in terms of its U. S. operations but also in terms of its overall global operations,must it justifythose positions under U. S. civil rights laws to avoid charges of job discrimination? 4. The civil rights laws were essentially a social response to a dramaticchange in the national climate as regards domestic discriminationby U. S. firms against blacks. Further,in many instances, expatriatepersonnel of foreign multinationalsare members of a racial,color, or nationaloriginminoritygroup by statutorydefinition.Considering these factors, should foreign multinationalsdoing business in the United States be subject to the civil rights laws in theiremploymentpractices? 5. Foreign MNCsare entitledto operate in the UnitedStates undertreaties of friendship, commerce, and navigationthat carefullydefine the rightseach nationwillrender to the persons and productsof the other. Distinctionsare made in many of the treaty provisions between U. S. subsidiaries of foreign firms incorporatedunder U. S. laws and branchoffices of foreignMNCs.Essentialto the successful operationof a multinationalis the abilityto u
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