...Companies (MNC's) have toward human rights ZHOU QING Herzing University The responsibility Multi-National Companies (MNC's) have toward human rights The development of the world economy as a major driving force of globalization multinational companies, in particular, play an active role in the development of the economic development of the host country has been widely recognized by the international community, the role of multinational corporations on the economy to improve the enjoyment of human rights conditions has become the consensus of the people. However, the negative impact of the activities of transnational corporations or work for human rights has often been overlooked. In the 1950s and 1970s, the United Fruit Company and the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, involved in the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Guatemala and Chile scandal was revealed, causing the international community, especially the developing countries concerned about the activities of transnational corporations, and led to the development of countries expand movement multinationals nationalization. In addition, multinational companies are still developing countries, a large scale in grab natural resources, and corrosion of the activities of the government of the nation-state. In order to chase profits in global multinational companies also often in partnership with repressive governments engaged in large-scale violations of human rights activists, or the implementation...
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...FORM” Falls- 37% Struck by Object- 10% Electrocutions- 9% Caught-in-between- 3% Categories of Violations 1.Other Than Serious- up to $7,000 for each violation 2.Serious- up to $7,000 for each violation 3.Willful- up to $70,000 for each violation minimum penalty of $5000 for each violation 4.Repeated- $70,000 per occurrence OSHA Prosecutions -Past 20 years- OSHA has failed to seek criminal prosecutions against 93% of companies where willful violation resulted in death -Majority of cases deferred to Department of Justice are never prosecuted Reasons for Lack Of Prosecution 1.Killing a worker due to a willful OSHA violation is a misdemeanor not a felony. The DOJ prefers to use limited resources on felonies. 2. Language of OSHA law- only employers can be charged with a claim. The supervisor is not the employer so it is hard to prove willful violation by employer. 3.OSHA investigators are not trained in criminal law. Employee Rights -Employees have rights if guaranteed by law Job Protection Rights -Employment at Will Doctrine -Wrongful Discharge Privacy Rights -Intrusion into employees personal affairs -Electronic Surveillance Access to Personnel Files -No Federal Laws State Laws -Some say employers must tell them of existence of HR File -Right to inspect their file (limit # of times) -Right to correct information -Right to make copies -Former employees a right to inspect (time limit) Employee Discipline Discipline does not equal punishment “behavior...
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...What constitutes “right” and “wrong” when it comes to child labor? Series in Childhood Studies: Rights and Wrongs of Children’s Work by Michael Bourdillon, Deborah Levison, and William Myers examines this question. “In Europe and North America it is widely assumed that factory work is bad for children, a clear case of harmful “child labor” (Bourdillon, Levison, Myers 1). Americans and Europeans are very strong in their belief that “forcing a child to work” is automatically “wrong”, no matter the circumstances. Thus, we see many cases of immediate intervention with a superficial resolution of “ending of child labor” yet leaving dire consequences for those around them. While America and Europe may think that intervening in cases of child labor is always “right”, often their intervention create more of an “interference” and is “wrong” for the situation at hand. America and Europe are “right” to care for the rights of children, but must slow down to research and understand the economic and cultural conditions surronging child labor around the world. In 1995, a British TV Show caught wind of a factory using child labor in Morocco and decided to film an exposé. Executives, after hearing about the expected exposé, quickly went in and fired all young girls working in...
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...employment law compliance plan for your client, Mr. Bradley Stonefield of Landslide Limousines. Because Mr. Stonefield is in the early stages of preparing to open Landslide Limousines, it is essential he is aware of the employment laws for Austin, Texas prior to hiring employees. I am aware he will have 25 employees within the first year of operation. This memo will address the applicable laws as well as the consequences for noncompliance with specific employment laws. I will discuss four of the more relevant employment laws that Mr. Stonefield should be concerned about. Texas Minimum Wage Act Companies must obey state and national minimum wage laws. Texas is no different. The current minimum wage for Texas is $7.25 per hour. It is a violation of the Texas Minimum Wage Act to pay an employee less than $7.25 per hour. In some jobs, employers can include tips, food, and housing as part of the minimum wage. According to Texas Workforce Commission (2013), “The Texas Minimum Wage Act establishes a minimum wage for non-exempt employees. It also requires covered employers to provide each employee with a written earnings statement containing certain information about the employee's pay, and designates the Texas Workforce Commission as the agency responsible for disseminating information about state minimum wage requirements. The Texas Minimum Wage Act contains provisions concerning agricultural piece rate workers, exempts a variety of organizations from its...
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...to stay compliant. Listed below are a few that are relevant to your business. Right to Work Law states that no person shall be denied opportunity to work due to being a nonmemember of a union. A company is being noncompliant if threatening or actual interference with person, his family, or property to force him to join union, strike against his will, or leave job; conspiracy to induce persons to refuse to work with nonmembers; agreements which exclude person from employment because of nonmembership in union. Penalties are that any act/agreement in violation of article is illegal and void; damages; injunctive relief. (Arizona Right to work Laws, n.d.) Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) states that it is a violation to fire or in any other manner discriminate against an employee for filing a complaint or for participating in a legal proceeding under FLSA. Penalties Willful violations may be prosecuted criminally and the violator fined up to $10,000. A second conviction may result in imprisonment. Violators of the child labor provisions are subject to a civil money penalty of up to $10,000 for each employee who was the subject of a violation. Employers who willfully or repeatedly violate the minimum wage or overtime pay requirements are subject to a civil money penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation. The FLSA prohibits the shipment of goods in interstate commerce which were produced in violation of the minimum wage,...
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...HR department is in compliance with all State, Federal, and local agencies. CCC is an existing business with over 15 employees which makes them well equipped with knowledge of Federal employment law requirements. They are complying with these laws at this time and to avoid redundancy the focus of this memo is to address the differing state requirements: * Right to Work/At Will Employment * Wages and Hours * Discrimination * New Hire Reporting/E-verify Right to Work/At Will Emplyment Arizona has a Right to Work provision in its constitution and is an At Will employment state. The Right to Work provision “prohibits unions from requiring employers to hire only union employees” (“Labor Employment Laws”, 2013, para.3) nor can they make them pay union dues. Employees have the option of joining and experiencing the rewards of being part of a union by paying union dues, however if they choose not to they can still have a job. At will employment means that any party can terminate employment at any time with or without cause. Violating these laws can result in fines from the United States Department of Labor and the Department of Arizona Attorney General’s Office. It can also result in very costly litigation, discrimination suits, and wrongful termination claims. Although Arizona is an At Will employment state there are still many steps that have...
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...Taft–Hartley Act The Labor-Management Relation Act, also called the Taft–Hartley Act, as an amendment to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was created in 1947, with the purpose of solving labor disputes during collective bargaining or conflicts between employees and employers that would seriously damage the U.S industrial development. Totally, there are 5 titles and 29 sections in this law. In my opinion, the 5 most important sections of this law are Sec.1, Sec 201, Sec.203, Sec.301, and Sec.303. And the following reasons explain why I think these five sections are the most important comparing to other sections. * Section 1 described the short title of Labor Management Relation Act and declared the policy of this law. The policy is that industrial strife which interferes with the normal flow and the full production of commerce must be avoided and minimized by both sides’ recognition of one another’s legitimates rights in their labor relations with each other. Further, the overall purpose of this law was also stated in this section: “to promote the full flow of commerce, to prescribe the legitimate rights of both employees and employers in their relations affecting commerce, to provide orderly and peaceful procedures for preventing the interference by either with the legitimate rights of the other , to protect the rights of individual employees in their relations with labor organization, to define and proscribe practices on the part of labor and management which affect...
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...doing transactions overseas, companies now does business in foreign lands. In these foreign lands they don’t have the same labor laws that are in the United States. What Apple is doing along with most companies is buying products and services from these countries. Apple has taken some criticism for doing business with some of these countries. I am going to talk about Apples position on ethical and social responsibility Apple supplier (2014). Question #1 Apples current position is fair and ethical treatment to employees by ending excessive work hours and limiting workweeks to a 60 maximum. Empowering workers by giving training on safety, rights. Providing free classes on language, computers skills and other subjects. Apple also has polices on underage workers, they don’t except it. If there is an underage employee under Apples policy they will be returned to the school of the families chose and paid the wage of the employee while in school by the supplier. While the employee is in school Apple follows up on the employee to ensure they remain and finishes school. The company has an equal opportunity hiring policy, ensuring the suppliers do not discriminate against future employees. Their suppliers are also required to provide a safe and healthy work environment. Suppliers are required to have minimal impact and help with the local environment. If violations to polices are found Apple with works with the supplier to fix the discrepancies. Apple can have all these policies, but...
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...Nike Case Study #1 MGMT 310 Jason Cussler January 31, 2014 Nike Falters in Ethical Practices Nike has faced many ethical dilemmas such as human rights abuses, labor violations, and negative impact on the environment where manufacturing plants are located. Their responses have varied from improving labor standards in each facility to implementing a recycling program for worn out shoes for the consumer, and creating a no waste recycling program at all levels of the Nike operations. In my opinion, Nike is on the right track but could do more in their response to these ethical challenges. Nike has responded to these ethical dilemmas in various ways. They’ve done a good job in anticipating the potential consequences, yet they have not involved enough people in the decision making process. For example, Nike did not take the allegations of human rights abuses and labor violations seriously in their overseas manufacturing plants until nongovernment organizations like Life magazine and The New York Times published articles on these violations. These articles created public awareness and exposed the lack of oversight and policies to ensure the human rights and labor guidelines were fair and enforced. After these articles were published, Nike obtained and implemented a new course of action for protecting workers rights, safety, and competitive wages. Nike should have been aware of these practices, monitoring and reviewing their manufacturing plants before the articles...
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...Why Safety is important There are many reasons for which managers concern about safety and accident prevention, the utmost important one of this is the staggering number of workplace accidents. On 24 April 2013, an eight-story commercial building, Rana Plaza, collapsed in Savar, in the Greater Dhaka Area, the capital of Bangladesh. The search for the dead ended on 13 May with the death toll of 1,129. Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the building alive. Statistics is actually underestimating the real number of injuries and illness by many times. However, injuries are just not the problems in dangerous industries like construction. For instance, manufacturers of computers and computer peripherals experiences reportable injuries or illnesses every year. Even commercial kitchens contain hazards like slippery floors and knives. ‘Sick building syndrome” like headaches and sniffles are the results of new computer technology which emit chemical fumes. Last but not the least, office work is at risk to other health problems which includes “repetitive trauma injuries that related to computer use, respiratory illness stemming from indoor air quality and also high levels of stress. The Hidden Story However the facts and figures do not tell us the complete story. As because this does not encompasses the human suffering incurred by the injured workers and their families or the real economic cost incurred y the employers. The 2012 Dhaka fire broke out on 24 November 2012...
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...Michael Pedrahita Business Ethics Prof. Lacey 2/6/2014 Unocal Case Simac 1. The United Oil Company of California (Unocal) made the decision in the 1990’s to invest in energy projects outside of the United States and chose to invest in the “Yadana field” pipeline. There are many stakeholders involved in the international “Yadana Field” natural gas project. Unocal, Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Co., Total S.A., and the Burmese government (Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise) along with the employees of these companies are all major stakeholders in the project. These were the main participants that would directly benefit as a result of the project. The people who were living in the area that the pipeline was to be constructed are important stakeholders. Their lives are going to be greatly affected and interrupted by the construction of the pipeline. Thailand and other countries that are going to be buying the natural gas are also stakeholders as are the people living in these countries. The economies of these countries will benefit from the new source of fuel. By deciding to invest in the project, Unocal was confronted with many ethical issues. Unocal was very interested in participating in the project for several reasons, all of which were related to potential future profits and disregarded any harm that might come to the inhabitants of the pipeline area. Also, the majority of oil fields in the U.S. were near depletion so Unocal would have to begin...
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...Nicole Kalgren Mrs. Candler Labor management (20919) Fall semester 2013 Norma Rae . Norma Rae Norma Rae is based on life story of Crystal Sutton and her connection with Ruben Warshovsky and the organization of the textile workers at the J.P. Stevens Company in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina (Labor Films). The movie was a realistic depiction of the sad, immoral, and domineering working conditions that existed in the looming life of mass production workers, and one woman’s struggle to overcome and progress the labor relation problems at a textile mill during the 1970's. The textile workers were unsatisfied with many aspects of their capitalistic working environment. They fought to form a union so that they could change the unwelcome characteristics to better meet their needs. Political, environmental, and cultural processes all played a part in the workers struggle to form an effective union. Norma Rae, a loom operator in the weaving room is an outspoken individual and is very out spoken about her poor working conditions such as excessive noise, long hours with short breaks, physical stress from standing for long periods and abnormally high temperatures in the work areas. Added to all this is managements apathy for the working conditions, as seen when her mother looses her hearing temporarily with little or no sentiment from the company doctor, who knows this is a common problem for the workers. With this setting, the film progresses through most of the stages for...
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...Global Compact Report Name Student ID: Signature: Businesses all over the world have a choice of either becoming a solution to the problems bedeviling the world or join in and add to these problems. Global warming, corrupt practices, involvement of child labor in the supply chain are some of the problems occasioned by the growth and expansion of multinational corporations. It is incumbent upon these businesses to ensure that they operate ethically and by so doing avoid these dilemmas. Businesses are also expected to actively participate in upholding human rights. The Global Compact proposes presents the framework and guiding principles that can help these MNC’s navigate past these dilemmas as they enter new growth environments. This paper will report on the issues raised on the Bloomberg Interview and the Four Corners Program on Apple. The Global Compact (GC) is a proposal from the United Nations, which asks companies, MNCs included, to embrace and inculcate universal principles in their company operations and partner with the UN to ensure that human rights violations are not perpetuated in the business world (Rasche, et al., 2012). The UN GC has grown to become a crucial platform through which the UN gets to engage and interact constructively with the numerous enlightened global businesses. The GC’s primary goal is to encourage businesses to engage in businesses as forces of good and not evil. Multinational corporations are impacted by the GC which...
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...China Labor Watch 147 W 35 TH Phone: 212-244-4049 Fax: 212-244-4146 E-mail: clw@chinalaborwatch.org ST STE 406 New York, NY 10001 Code of Conduct is No More than False Advertising, Disney Suppliers Continue Exploiting Chinese Workers By China Labor Watch November 10, 2010 While every effort will be made to keep the materials accurate and up-to-date, China Labor Watch is not personally responsible for accuracy and currency. This report contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this report. SOME RIGHTS RESERVED. 2010 Content Summary.......................................................................................................................................................................3 Yiuwah Accident .........................................................................................................................................................3 Disney Consumer Products .........................................................................................................................................4 “Cut and Run” ..............................................................................................................................................................5 Establishment of “Code of Conduct” .........................................................................................................................6 Production...
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...England could they view the British Empire as a nuisance and seek their independence. The Virginia colonies uproar by the King's violations of their charter, their ability in successfully governing themselves, and creating the modern plantation system which would help ensure economic confidence were the Virginia colonies influence in showing they could survive without the rule of England, catalyzing their fight for independence. In the year 1606, a joint-stock company called the Virginia Company was granted a charter by the King granting them a...
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