There are significant differences between laws, regulations, acts, guidance and policies, but most people, even those who are regularly engaged in legal and regulatory compliance underestimate the differences. This post will help you to understand the difference between laws, regulations, acts, guidance and policies and explain why these differences are important. Let’s clear away the fog. 1. Laws Definition of Laws The term law refers to formal rules laid down and enforced by a governing authority to regulate behaviour. It is used to maintain order, protect rights and provide justice within a society. The Role of Laws in Society This is why laws are so important: they tell us how to behave – what is and isn’t acceptable – and what the punishment should be if we break them. They tell us how to look after ourselves and one another. They protect us from harm and ensure that everyone is treated fairly. And they help the government and all the other official bodies we need to function. Ensuring Justice and Equality Laws are very important because they make sure everyone is treated the same and is safe. They also provide a reading of what justice is and how we should go about resolving disputes. Protecting Rights and Liberties Laws serve to protect rights and liberties. For example, antidiscrimination laws protect the rights and liberties of all citizens from the random caprice of individual citizens; criminal codes are fundamental to preserving the rights and liberties of the individual in his or her day-to-day life. How Laws Are Created (Legislative Process) The process usually iterates through many of these steps. First, citizens propose a bill to a legislative body. A legislature, such as a parliament or congress, then debates the bill and submits it for review to various committees. Eventually, a bill can be approved and made into a law. Proposal and Drafting The bill specifies what the proposed law will contain, and the drafting process can be initiated by legislators, by administration officials or -- if advances in constitutional law persist -- sometimes even by public petitions. Debate and Amendment The bill is then reviewed in committee before voting by the legislature. If successful, the law will undergo more amendments before final approval. Approval and Enactment The legislation is then enacted if, having gone through all appropriate legislative stages, it is finally approved or overridden by a legislative body and signed into law (eg, by a president or monarch). Examples of Laws and Their Impact The age of these big laws, such as the Civil Rights Act, barring discrimination against minorities, or the Clean Air Act, defining ambient air quality standards, is five decades or more. Civil Rights Act The US Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex or national origin in employment, education and other services provided by businesses that served the general public. Clean Air Act In the US, the Clean Air Act passed in 1970 created a framework to regulate air pollution nationally and reduce emissions of harmful chemicals that cause smog, acid rain, cancer, asthma, and other health problems. After its passage, air quality and health improved drastically. Want to Become A Paralegal? - Get Our Paralegal Training Course 2. Regulations Definition of Regulations Regulations are rules describing exactly how a law is to be carried out and enforced. They are formulated by administrative agencies and are designed to clarify how to comply with the law. The Relationship Between Laws and Regulations Laws set the general framework, while regulations translate these into the specifics. Regulations make sure that the intentions of the general law are properly translated into practice. Implementing Laws Red-light laws are empty without red-light regulations. The regulations are the meat of the law – the specific steps or standards that must be met – just as meat is the aliveness of one’s body. How Regulations Are Created and Enforced Agencies and departments of government enact regulations. They draft proposed regulations, allow for public comment, and finalise the rules after analysis of feedback. Drafting Regulations Laws delegate power to government agencies to draw regulations. These, in turn, are meant to specify how the law will be given effect in practice by filling in the procedural details. Public Consultation This can mean that draft regulations spend time in a period of public consultation, where those affected have an opportunity to comment on the workability of the regulations. Finalising and Enforcing Regulations Following consultation on the proposed regulations, the agency issues final regulations, which are also published. Inspectors are tasked with enforcing the regulations through inspections and other means, typically punitive. Examples of Regulations and Their Practical Applications Examples of the rules include OSHA workplace safety rules and rules of the EPA that limit pollution of the environment. Workplace Safety Standards Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) sets regulations for safe and healthy working conditions. These regulations include a variety of rules on the way how to use the machinery properly, treating dangerous goods and escaping from the emergency. Environmental Regulations The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for implementing protections for the environment. Some of those protections include regulations on the emissions of factories, regulations on garbage emplacement and disposal, and regulations for the quality of water. These regulations are preliminary in helping to maintain good health for the environment. Impact of Regulations Because regulations influence daily operations for people and businesses, they have a direct effect on markets. Regulations might ensure compliance with laws, such as the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011, or they might ensure safety, health and fairness, such as financial regulations that protect the integrity of markets. 3. Acts Definition of Acts Acts, by contrast with statutes, are formal written laws that have been passed by a legislative body (usually a parliament or congress) and come into legal existence as a result. In this sense, an act marks the end of the legislative process and it’s binding. The Process of Passing an Act The bill is signed into an act after following the proposal stage, debates, amendments and approval of the legislative houses. Proposal and Drafting An act starts as a bill, which is drafted to address an issue or need. Bills can be written by legislators; by committees; or by government departments or agencies. Debate and Amendment The bill then makes its way to the floor of the legislative branch, where it is read, debated, often amended, and then reread an additional number of times. Approval and Enactment After both legislative houses have approved the measure, the bill proceeds to the chief executive or head of government for signature before entering into law. The Difference Between Acts and Laws There is some overlapping in the concepts of acts and laws: both denote rules, their promulgation, their applicability, and their effects. Yet ‘act’ refers to a law passed in due course by an authorised legislative body. In other words, an act is part of the body of law once passed. Acts as Components of Law Acts are the individual pieces of delegated legislation that together make up the law that governs a community. It is not just sticking onto another sign, but rather one sign that collectively makes up the whole law of a society. Examples of Significant Acts and Their Implications For example, examples of watershed acts include the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the US, and the Equality Act in the UK, which create ripples in healthcare and anti-discriminatory policies. Affordable Care Act Among these was the ACA – known as Obamacare – which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. The ACA reformed many parts of the US healthcare system, making more people eligible for health insurance, and incorporating activities designed to lower healthcare costs. Equality Act The Equality Act 2010 in the UK consolidates and streamlines previous anti-discrimination laws into one piece of legislation protecting people from discrimination based on things they cannot change about themselves, such as age, gender and disability. Want to Become A Paralegal? - Get Our Paralegal Training Course 4. Guidance Definition of Guidance Guidance documents provide non-binding recommendations issued by an authority to assist parties in interpreting and applying a law or regulation. They provide specific advice and elaborate on legal requirements. The Purpose of Guidance Documents Guidance, by helping people and organisations to comply with legal obligations, goes further than other advice, providing detailed information and specific steps to enable and encourage compliance with the law and regulations that apply to them. Interpreting Legal Requirements But guidance documents translate the language of filigreed legal rules into something closer to plain prose, offering readily comprehensible directives to the targets of the rules. These guidelines help those who must carry out the demands of the law to do so in a manner consistent with the lawyer’s intent. How Guidance is Developed and Disseminated Guidance, on the other hand, tends to be produced by a government agency or regulatory body, through expert input and stakeholder consultations and review. Stakeholder Consultations Once a draft of guidance is developed, agencies may seek both industry input and feedback from the public to learn more about how realistic and manageable the guidance will be. Publication and Access After the drafting of the guidance documents, they’re then published on official websites and distributed to relevant stakeholders. Often, a FAQ, toolkit or training session accompanies the guidance documents to facilitate their understanding and execution. Examples of Guidance and How It Is Used in Practice Individual examples would be the health and safety guidelines developed by OSHA, or environmental compliance guides published by EPA. The goal is for businesses and their employees to be able to comprehend (and hopefully meet) the demands of regulatory authorities. Health and Safety Guidelines OSHA guides employers on how to protect workers from occupational hazards and comply with safety standards. Environmental Compliance Guides The EPA develops guidelines to help corporations better understand what environmental regulations entail and how to operate in a manner that minimises pollution of various natural resources. 5. Policies Definition of Policies Policies are explicitly defined principles or rules, developed with authority by entities to guide their decision-making and realise objectives. They reflect an entity’s strategic direction and priorities. The Role of Policies in Organizations and Government Policies delimit an environment in which decisions and actions will be consistent. This allows the organisation or government to achieve its goals as effectively as possible and ethically. Guiding Decision-Making Policies provide a structure to guide decisions in a direction that will be consistent with the organisation’s values and overall direction. How Policies Are Formulated and Implemented For example, developing policy involves identifying problems, defining outcomes or objectives, and identifying the steps (actions) needed to achieve each objective. Delivery consists of communicating the policy, training staff, and conducting checks to see if the policy is being followed. Identifying Issues and Setting Objectives First, the policy being formulated identifies the problems. Second, the policy’s objectives clarify what that policy intends to accomplish. Communicating and Training For the policy to be implemented well, all of the people that it affects must understand what actions are expected of them. This requires proper communication of its details. Training sessions therefore ensure that everyone is up to speed on the policy and understands what their role in it will be. Examples of Policies and Their Effects For instance, within organisations, policies on diversity and inclusion have important effects on behaviour and outcomes, including those for public health at the state and national levels. Diversity and Inclusion Policies Organisations have diversity and inclusion policies to make their staff more diverse and inclusive. They have a list of practices in those policies to make people have similar status in the organisation and not discriminate against each other. Public Health Policies Government policies on public health – such as having vaccination programmes and banning smoking in public – try to safeguard and promote the population's health. 6. Comparative Analysis Key Differences Between Laws, Regulations, Acts, Guidance, and Policies Laws are the rules governing specific conduct that have been promulgated by the legislative branch of government to maintain justice. Acts are the laws enacted through the legislative process. Regulations are the legalistically binding directives promulgated by administrative agencies as part of their oversight of laws. Guidance is non-binding advice given to entities charged with interpreting and carrying out laws and regulations. Policies are strategic plans adopted by organisations and governments to inform decision-making related to a specific goal. Definitions and Purposes Each term is used distinctively: laws set out the broad framework for the governance of a society; acts are the specific enactment of laws by legislatures; regulations enable those frameworks to be implemented in practical ways; guidance explains how those frameworks should be understood; and policies provide the overall strategic directions. Formality and Binding Nature While laws are acts of parliament or the like with specific sanctions, acts have the same binding nature. Regulations are binding but have specific instructions to be followed in achieving that goal. Guidance is not binding, though very persuasive. Policies are binding on the group or organisation that has adopted them, but they are not binding in the same way as a law. How They Interact and Influence Each Other Laws and acts enact the legislation; regulations are created under laws, providing guidelines for their application; guidance helps to interpret laws and regulations, suggesting how to comply; and policies describe how strategically laws and regulations apply within organisations. Sequential Relationships Laws generate rules for enforcement. Guidance documents are generated to interpret a law and the resulting rules, and policies derive from these broader frameworks to aid organisations in setting strategies. The Hierarchy and Authority of Each Term in the Legal System Laws and Acts, at the top of this hierarchy, sit above both regulations and guidance. Typically of lower authority, guidance documents can nevertheless act as important interpretative statements. Policies are internal directives emanating from within organisational sets of authority, constrained within the framework set by the legal drawbridge above them. 7. Practical Implications Understanding the Impact of These Terms on Businesses and Individuals It’s not just the US where regular people get bogged down by a mind-numbing thicket of laws, regulations, statutes, acts, guidelines, and policies; every country has its weird ways of stating the obvious or vague and ambiguous instructions or guidance where the use of other words would have done just fine. But getting right the use of one word or the other makes a very big difference as to whether a business or, as an individual taxpayer, you comply with the law (or maybe with what you were led to believe was the law). Business Compliance Businesses are required to follow the law and regulations and will be penalised by regulatory agencies and the courts for not doing so. Other forms of ‘guidance’ help businesses understand what could be a confusing landscape of legal requirements, and ‘internal policies’ ensure that those requirements are applied in the right way – consistently and appropriately. Individual Compliance For people, grasping them helps to fulfil legal obligations, from obeying workplace rules to serving as good public health citizens. Illustrating the Application of Laws, Regulations, Acts, Guidance, and Policies Examples show how the different terms operate together, and how they impact different sectors. They help to demonstrate why each term is significant and deserves study. Environmental Protection Laws: The Clean Air Act establishes the legal framework for air quality standards. Regulations: EPA issues regulations detailing emission limits for industries. Guidance: EPA provides guidance on best practices for reducing emissions. Policies: Companies adopt internal policies to ensure compliance with EPA regulations and promote sustainability. Workplace Safety Laws: Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) mandates safe working conditions. Regulations: OSHA issues specific safety standards for various industries. Guidance: OSHA provides guidelines to help businesses implement safety standards. Policies: Companies develop safety policies to align with OSHA regulations and protect employees. Tips for Staying Compliant and Informed Staying compliant requires continuous education and proactive measures. Here are some tips: Regular Updates Sign up for newsletters about changes in the law, regulations and guidance; check up on official government websites. Training and Development Make sure that all employees receive regular training so that they don’t violate legal requirements or company policies. Consultation with Experts Consult lawyers and regulators to ensure adherence to shifting legal norms. Policy Reviews Review internal policies regularly to make sure they remain compliant with state, federal and international laws and regulations, and that organisational practices reflect those policies. Utilise Technology Monitor all regulatory changes, maintain document control and timely update policies and procedures with compliance management software. Want to Become A Paralegal? - Get Our Paralegal Training Course Conclusion Laws. Regulations. Acts. Guidance. Policy, whichever it is, if you aren’t familiar with the subtle – and sometimes not-so-subtle – differences between these (and similar) terms, it might be harder than it should be to keep on the right side of the law or to know what the law or regulations require of you. Be sure you know what’s expected. Know the difference. Know when to ask an expert.