Tory MPs Criticise Government as It Quietly Bolsters EU Equality Rules Into Domestic Law

A number of Conservative MPs have criticised the government for quietly bolstering European Union equality rules into British law, which they claim could burden businesses. The Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Regulations 2023 were passed by MPs on Dec. 13, 2023, and aimed to reproduce in domestic law in Great Britain certain interpretive effects of EU law which would have ceased to apply by the end of 2023. The government said this was done “to ensure necessary equality protections are put into statute” and that “the law will continue to have the same effect after the end of 2023 as it did before.” Aspects of the Equality Act, which came into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, include instruments which allow people to sue for “indirect discrimination” if they have experienced the “same disadvantage” as someone with a protected characteristic, such as race or religion, even if they are not part of those protected groups....