Final answer:
Employment laws such as the French labor code, the Civil Rights Act, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act have significantly changed how organizations and HR departments operate, impacting hiring practices, labor union activities, and protection against employment discrimination.
Step-by-step explanation:
The employment laws have forever altered the ways in which many organizations and their human resource departments do business. An example of such legislation is the French labor code, which mandates that once a company reaches 50 employees, it must create worker councils, initiate profit sharing, and provide restructuring plans if layoffs are considered. This can discourage companies from expanding their workforce, thus affecting hiring rates and possibly increasing the natural rate of unemployment. In the United States, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the subsequent Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 are further examples of legislation that impact employment practices. These laws make it illegal to discriminate based on race, color, or pregnancy in any employment-related decisions.
Additionally, the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 drastically changed public sector employment, and organizations have had to navigate through the complexities of evolving laws that regulate labor practices. The U.S. legal environment can be challenging for unions trying to organize workers, further indicating the significant impact of labor laws on HR practices.