Outline
Ethics practices by employers towards people who work for them is an extremely important issue. This paper reviews ethical practices in Wal-Mart with regard to safety in the workplace. It is seen that the company does not have any jobs that can be considered very dangerous. But certain jobs like operating machinery and using cutting instruments have inherent dangers. Even though the company does not have a reputation of exposing workers to unknown dangers, they have been accused of using teenage labor to perform the above mentioned jobs. The workers have statutes that give them rights which they can use to reduce or minimize workplace hazards.
Introduction
The concept of business ethics has been an issue in today’s world and many corporations have been accused to being unethical towards their customers and their employees. Employees are one of the biggest assets of any organization and corporations are morally and legally bound to treat them in an ethical manner. Ethics can be with regard to many factors like discrimination and workplace hazards. This paper discusses this ethical issue with regard to dangers in the workplace. The study will focus on the US multinational giant and one of the world’s largest employers, Wal-mart.
Danger in the workplace
“Workplace safety refers to the working environment at a company and encompasses all factors that impact the safety, health, and well-being of employees. This can include environmental hazards, unsafe working conditions or processes, drug and alcohol abuse, and workplace violence.” (Additional Definitions: Workplace Safety, 2009). Any company in the US (and the word) should ensure that employees are protected from dangers or if the work itself is dangerous, provide adequate security measures. It is well known that certain jobs have inherent risks in their day to day performance. This could include mining jobs, high rise construction jobs, operation of machinery and using sharp instruments (knife, shears etc). Wal-Mart as most people are aware is a supermarket chain and most of its jobs do not come in the category of high risk jobs. But in view with the above explanation, there are certain jobs in the company which requires operation of machinery like forklifts, power saws, lifting heavy weights, and cutting shears. These are commonly used machinery and adult workers are expected to be aware of the dangers involved. But even so, the company is expected to inform employees as per legal statutes, and hence form a part of the legal right of the employee. This will be discussed in the last section of this paper.
With regard to Wal-Mart, the company has been accused of using teenage labor in these areas. “Wal-Mart was recently fined by the U.S. Department of Labor for having illegally used teenage workers to do dangerous jobs.” (Secret sweetheart deal between Wal Mart and the Bush administration, 2005). It is not clear whether the company had informed adult workers engaged in such jobs. But the company had erred in employing teenagers by making them perform jobs that included working with paper balers, fork lifts, and power saws. The teenagers, even if informed, may not take the dangers seriously due to their excitement in operating machinery. An adult on the other hand, due to enhanced wisdom and experience may not take such hazard warnings lightly. The company has caused a breach of ethics with regard to dangers in the workplace. In case of adult workers, it is assumed that the risks involved are reasonable and acceptable, assuming that they have been clearly informed of the inherent dangers.
Legal rights
In the United States, the primary statute that pertains to hazards in the workplace is called the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA). In the process of implementation “The Act gave employees many new rights and responsibilities.” (Chao & Henshaw, 2005). A few of them are discussed here to illustrate the responsibility shown by the government to reduce workplace injuries and problems. Employees have the right to review all standards, rules and regulations maintained by the employer with regard to their jobs. They also have the right to ask employers about hazard details of the jobs they have to perform. This will include the precautions to be taken and the steps to be followed in case of an emergency. They also have the right to request an OSHA compliance officer to inspect the workplace if they feel that any hazard violations exist. Employees can also accompany the officer during the inspection. The company is expected to keep a log of past work-related injuries and illnesses and employees have the right to inspect them. If employees have any doubts regarding the toxicity of any material they have to handle, or is present in the workplace, they can request in writing to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for details about any health hazards. This listing is not exhaustive and is only given to illustrate that employees have a lot of rights in ensuring their safety when performing tasks.
Conclusion
Ethics related to workplace safety is a matter of serious concern in any organization. Wal-Mart due to the nature of its business does not have any tasks that are considered to be very dangerous. The main dangers pertain to hazards from operating machinery and cutting instruments. The company has been found violating ethics in a few instances by employing teenage labor to do these jobs. Employees have many rights to ensure or minimize occupational hazards and they should make use of it for their own benefit and safety.
References
Additional definitions: Workplace safety. (2009). US Legal: Legal Definitions. Web.
Chao, Elaine. L., & Henshaw, John. L. (2005). Osha: Employee workplace rights. United States Department of Labor. Web.
Secret sweetheart deal between Wal Mart and the Bush administration. (2005). UN. Web.