Study: Anti-discrimination law not costly

BERLIN, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- An initial estimate on the cost of implementing a new German anti-discrimination law was too high, a government study suggests.

The new study said while the Initiative of the New Social-Market Economy said in 2007 that the law would cost nearly $2.58 billion to implement, the likely cost to facilitate the law's integration would be substantially lower, Der Spiegel said Friday.

The study, conducted by Germany's anti-discrimination governmental body, said the law's implementation should only cost taxpayers nearly $38.2 million.

The anti-discrimination law was created to help Germany meet European Union regulations, but opponents of the law quickly accused it of being too costly to implement and a potential drag on the country's legal system.

Klaus Michael Alenfelder, president of the German Society for Anti-Discrimination Law, told Der Spiegel that the law should ultimately be an economic benefit for Germany.

"The law merely requires employers to make decisions on the basis of objectivity rather than prejudice," he said. "And that will lead to important advantages for the company: the quality of its employees will improve -- leading to the entire enterprise becoming stronger."