LEG500 Week 2 Discussion

The Duty of Loyalty and Whistleblowing" Please respond to the following:

• The chapter reading identifies the concepts of duty of loyalty and duty of care.   What is the difference between the two and identify those affected by these legal concepts.

• Analyze the duty of loyalty in whistle blower cases to determine to whom loyalty is owed, and who shows the greater duty of loyalty. Support your analysis with specific examples.

• Rexamine the [CITIZEN'S UNITED] decision in Chapter 1.  Which of the following groups has the greatest free speech rights: corporations, public employees, or private employees. Provide a rationale for your determination.  Did you agree with the Court's finding? Why or why not? Support your response.

Professor's Messages to the student.

Dear Students:  Last week, Chapter 1 identified the notion of duty to rescue from a law perspective and ethical perspective.  The law does not presuppose an affirmative duty to rescue unless an exception is present, ie. a contract exists, when you create the danger of liability, when you "take steps to rescue" and when a special relationship exists between the parties, for example parent/child or employer/employee.

This week we focus on the legal duties owed by the different parties in business and a very important concept - the employment-at-will doctrine.  The chapter opens with the ethical dilemma "whistleblowers" face.  Remember to define who a whistleblower is and see the application of the law regarding whistleblowers in the case law.  You will use this information and knowledge in completing your first writing assignment, Assignment 1: Whistleblowing and the Sarbenes-Oxley Act.  Also, begin to consider all the stakeholders in regards to the law.