Business Ethics-Chapter 6 & 7-Ethical Decision Making: Employer Responsibilities and Employee Rights + Ethical Decision Making: Technology and Privacy in the Workplace

due process

The right to be protected against the arbitrary use of authority. In legal contexts, due process refers to the procedures that police and courts must follow in exercising their authority over citizens. In the employment context, due process specifies the conditions for basic fairness within the scope of the employer's authority over its employees.

employment at will (EAW)

Employment at will holds that, in the absence of a particular contractual or other legal obligation that specifies the length or conditions of employment, all employees are employed "at will."

just cause

A standard for terminations or discipline that requires the employer to have sufficient and fair cause before reaching a decision against an employee.

common-law agency test

a persuasive indicator of independent contractor status is the ability to control the manner in which the work is performed. Under the common-law agency approach, the employer need not actually control the work, but must merely have the right or ability to control the work for a worker to be classified an employee.

IRS 20-factor analysis

a list of 20 factors to which the IRS looks to determine whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor. The IRS compiled this list from the results of judgments of the courts relating to this issue

economic realities test

courts consider whether the worker is economically dependent on the business or, as a matter of economic fact, is in business for himself or herself.

downsize

The reduction of human resources at an organization through terminations, retirements, corporate divestments, or other means.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an agency of the federal government that publishes and enforces safety and health regulations for U.S. businesses.

sweatshops

Some might suggest that all workplaces with conditions that are below standards in more developed countries are sweatshops because all humans have a right to equally decent working conditions.

child labor

signifies children who work, it has taken on the meaning of exploitative work that involves some harm to a child who is not of an age to justify his or her presence in the workplace.

diversity

Diversity refers to the presence of differing cultures, languages, ethnicities, races, affinity orientations, genders, religious sects, abilities, social classes, ages, and national origins of the individuals in a firm.

multiculturalism

Similar to diversity, refers to the principle of tolerance and inclusion that supports the co-existence of multiple cultures, while encouraging each to retain that which is unique or individual about that particular culture.

affirmative action

A policy or a program that strives to redress past discrimination through the implementation of proactive measures to ensure equal opportunity.

reverse discrimination

Decisions made or actions taken against those individuals who are traditionally considered to be in power or the majority, such as white men, or in favor of a historically nondominant group.

EXAMPLES OF BIAS INTERRUPTERS

GOOGLE. These efforts created a culture where self-promotion became expected and desirable for everyone. As a result, the difference between male and female promotions diminished.

privacy

The right to be "let alone" within a personal zone of solitude, and/or the right to control information about oneself.

privacy rights

The legal and ethical sources of protection for privacy in personal data.

reciprocal obligation

The concept that, while an employee has an obligation to respect the goals and property of the employer, the employer has a reciprocal obligation to respect the rights of the employee as well, including the employee's right to privacy.

hypernorms

Values that are fundamental across culture and theory.

moral free space

That environment where hypernorms or universal rules do not govern or apply to ethical decisions but instead culture or other influences govern decisions, as long as they are not in conflict with hypernorms. In other words, as long as a decision is not in conflict with a hypernorm, it rests within moral free space and reasonable minds may differ as to what is ethical.

property rights

The boundaries defining actions that individuals can take in relation to other individuals regarding their personal information. If one individual has a right to her or his personal information, someone else has a commensurate duty to observe that right.

Fourth Amendment protection

The U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure extends privacy protections to the public-sector workplace through the Constitution's application to state action.

Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986

The U.S. statute that establishes the provisions for access, use, disclosure, interception, and privacy protections relating to electronic communications.

intrusion into seclusion

The legal terminology for one of the common-law claims of invasion of privacy. Intrusion into seclusion occurs when someone intentionally intrudes on the private affairs of another when the intrusion would be "highly offensive to a reasonable person."

reasonable expectation of privacy

reasonable expectation of privacy
The basis for some common-law claims of invasion of privacy. Where an individual is notified that information will be shared or space will not be private, there is likely no reasonable expectation of privacy.

European Union’s Directive on Personal Data Protection

EU legislation seeking to remove potential obstacles to cross-border flows of personal data, to ensure a high level of protection within the European Union, and to harmonize protections across the European continent and with those countries with whom EU countries do business.

personal data

Any information relating to an identifiable person, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to one or more factors specific to her or his physical, physiological, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity.

Safe Harbor exception

Considered "adequate standards" of privacy protection for U.S.-based companies under the European Union's Data Protection Directive.

Truthfulness and accuracy

The person providing the information must ensure that it is truthful and accurate, at least to a reasonable degree.

Economist Antonio Argandoña contends that, if new technology is dependent on and has as its substance information and data, significant moral requirements should be imposed on that information. He suggests the following as necessary elements:

Truthfulness and accuracy: The person providing the information must ensure that it is truthful and accurate, at least to a reasonable degree.

Respect for privacy: The person receiving or accumulating information must take into account the ethical limits of individuals’ (and organizations’) privacy. This would include issues relating to company secrets, espionage, and intelligence gathering.

Respect for property and safety rights: Areas of potential vulnerability, including network security, sabotage, theft of information, and impersonation, are enhanced and must therefore be protected.

Accountability: Technology allows for greater anonymity and distance, requiring a concurrent increased exigency for personal responsibility and accountability.38

e-mail monitoring

The maintenance and either periodic or random review of e-mail communications of employees or others for a variety of business purposes.

Internet use monitoring

The maintenance and either periodic or random review of the use of the Internet by employees or others based on time spent or content accessed for a variety of business purposes.