This paper examines the European Union's legislative framework across three interrelated areas: employment law, anti-discrimination and workplace health and safety, and data protection. It explains how the EU uses directives and the European Court of Justice to establish enforceable minimum standards across member states, ensuring freedom of labor movement and uniform worker protections. The paper also surveys the Union's expansive approach to eliminating workplace discrimination under the Amsterdam Treaty, its health and safety mandates, and its globally leading data protection regime. Together, these areas reflect the EU's overarching commitment to human rights and the improvement of living and working conditions across the continent.
The European Union has adopted an aggressive position in the area of employment law. Although the primary goal of the Union is to promote economic relationships between member states, there is a social dimension to Union activities that demands involvement in collateral matters that may affect this goal (Sparrow, 2009). Employment law is one such collateral matter, and the goal is to maintain a high level of employment throughout the Union and to improve the living conditions of all workers. The Union's hope was that working conditions would be enhanced in the process (Kenner, 2002).
The approach taken by the Union was to adopt legislation enforceable throughout its member states. This legislation establishes minimum standards governing working and employment conditions. Because freedom of movement of labor is one of the basic social rights of the European Union, it was essential that some measure of uniformity be established in the area of employment law. This system allows every Union national the opportunity to take up and pursue employment in any territory within the Union and enjoy the same rights and privileges available in his or her native state. Accordingly, every individual member state is expected to incorporate these standards into its respective national laws, resulting in a uniform system of employment law throughout the European Union.
Providing the legislation necessary to set standards is only the first step; enforcing those standards is equally required. This responsibility falls upon the courts in the various member states. Beyond enforcement in member state courts, the European Court of Justice also plays an integral role in arbitrating conflicts and providing legal guidance. Workers who first seek relief regarding employment issues in their respective national courts retain the option of seeking relief through the European Court of Justice. This process allows individual workers to claim employment rights that their member state may have failed to incorporate into domestic law or that their domestic court may have improperly applied. The fact that all individuals have access to European Union courts has caused domestic courts to interpret their national laws in light of directives issued by those courts.
This reality has caused a major shift in employment law across Europe. Outside the United Kingdom, where law has developed primarily through common law, most other European legal systems were based on codified law. With the increased involvement of the European Court of Justice, case law development has become more important, and less reliance is being placed on codified law — a development more similar to the system used in the United Kingdom. Conflicts between the laws of member nations require flexibility, and strict adherence to codes does not always afford the required level of flexibility. Member states that have relied on codified laws are still adjusting to the greater role of case law, and this has caused some confusion in the application of decisions rendered by Union courts.
The European Union has established a strong position on all matters related to discrimination in any form among its member states (Meenan, 2007). This position flows directly from Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty and prevents all individuals in the European Union from being discriminated against on grounds of race and ethnic origin, as well as religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual orientation. The goal of these standards was to eliminate all discriminatory practice in the workplace throughout the European Union. When these standards were originally established, the Union had fewer members and enforcement was easier. As the Union has expanded, enforcement has become more difficult, and in recognition of this challenge the Union dedicated more resources toward the elimination of workplace discrimination — including declaring equal treatment and non-discrimination its primary goal for the calendar year 2007.
Despite the high priority placed on the elimination of discrimination and the creation of equality in the workplace, discrimination still exists (Besson, 2008). Such discrimination is to be expected where so many ethnic, racial, and religious groups live side by side, but member states remain determined to do whatever is necessary to achieve total equality in the workplace.
Improvements in the health and safety of European workers have also been a concern for the European Union from the outset. Article 140 of the EC Treaty contains language encouraging member states to cooperate in an effort to prevent occupational accidents and diseases and to promote occupational hygiene. Initially, member states were afforded considerable latitude in adopting their own standards. Competition was often given more weight than safety, and so the Union stepped in to establish minimum health and safety standards for all its members. Currently, all member states must establish health and safety standards that comply with Union requirements. Member states may adopt standards more stringent than those set by the Union, but they cannot fall below them.
In establishing minimum standards, the European Union has required that member states concern themselves with not only the health and safety of workers but also anyone who visits the workplace (Jacobsen, 2006). Standards must fully assess risks and implement controls to reduce them. In addition to establishing minimum standards, the Union requires that educational and training programs be implemented to provide workers with the information necessary to ensure their health and safety. The Union also recommends that businesses initiate internal monitoring and surveillance of their working environments.
The European Union has been at the forefront of data protection legislation, leading the entire world in its efforts to protect the privacy of individuals living within European member states. In this regard, the European Union has declared that the protection of personal data is a fundamental right of all individuals living in a member state.
"EU leads world in personal data privacy protection"
The European Union's concern with discrimination, equality, and health and safety in the workplace are all consistent with the Union's overall concern with human rights. The Union has concerned itself with improving the humanitarian and economic conditions of European workers since its earliest days and has attempted to do so while simultaneously creating more jobs and better-quality jobs. When the Union first began developing the laws governing these issues, conflicts often arose among member states, and the goal has been to coordinate as many laws and regulations as possible and to create a system that covers the maximum number of risks while utilizing the minimum number of regulations. The process has taken time and considerable effort from all member states, but the Union is gaining ground in building a unified system of laws that governs concerns over discrimination, health and safety, and data protection alike.
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