OLS 30000: Safety and Health in Engineering Technologies Assignment 2 – Mil-Tech – Ethics in Safety

Chapter 26

ETHICS AND SAFETY

Major Topics

■ An Ethical Dilemma ■ Ethics Defined ■ Ethical Behavior in Organizations ■ Safety and Health Professionals’ Role in Ethics ■ Company’s Role in Ethics ■ Handling of Ethical Dilemmas ■ Questions to Ask When Making Decisions ■ Ethics and Whistle-Blowing

Practically everyone agrees that business practices of industrial firms should

be above reproach with regard to ethical standards. Few people are willing to

defend unethical behavior. For the most part, industry in the United States operates

within the scope of accepted legal and ethical standards. This is important because

“Companies and business people who wish to thrive long- term must adopt sound

ethical decision-making practices. Companies and people who behave in a socially

responsible manner are much more likely to enjoy ultimate success than those

whose actions are motivated solely by profits. Knowing the difference between right

and wrong and choosing what is right is the foundation for ethical decision making.

In many cases, doing the right thing often leads to the greatest financial, social, and

personal rewards in the long run.”1

However, unethical behavior does occur frequently enough that modern

safety and health professionals should be aware of the types of ethical dilemmas

that they may occasionally face and should know how to deal with such issues. How

to deal successfully and effectively with ethics on the job is the subject of this

chapter.

AN ETHICAL DILEMMA

According to Stead, Worrell, and Stead, Managing ethical behavior is one of the most pervasive and complex problems facing

business organizations today. Employees’ decisions to behave ethically or unethically are

influenced by a myriad of individual and situational factors. Background, personality,

decision history, managerial philosophy, and reinforcement are but a few of the factors

which have been identified by researchers as determinants of employees’ behavior when

faced with ethical dilemmas.2

Consider the following example of an ethical dilemma:

Mil-Tech Manufacturing Company is a Department of Defense contractor that

produces air and watertight aluminum containers for shipping nonnuclear

munitions such as missiles, bombs, and torpedoes. Business has been good and Mil-

Tech is prospering. However, the company’s management team has a problem. Mil-

Tech has been awarded a contract to produce 10,000 boxes in six months. The

company’s maximum capacity is currently 1,000 boxes per month. Unless Mil-Tech

can find a way to increase its capacity, the company will be forced to add new

facilities, equipment, and personnel—an expensive undertaking that will quickly eat

up the projected profits of the new contract. The most time-consuming bottleneck in

the production of the boxes is the painting process, the last step. The problem is

with the paint that Mil-Tech uses. It poses no health, safety, or environmental

hazards, but it is difficult to apply and requires at least two hours to dry. Clearly, the

most expeditious way to increase productivity is to find a paint that is easier to

apply and takes less time to dry. The production manager has been searching

frantically for a substitute paint for two weeks and has finally found one. The new

paint is easy to apply, and it dries almost on contact. However, it is extremely toxic

and can be dangerous to anyone exposed to it at any time before it dries. Personal

protective equipment (PPE) and other hazard-prevention techniques can minimize

the health problems, but they must be used properly with absolutely no shortcuts.

In addition, it is recommended that every employee who will work with the paint

complete three full days of training. Mil-Tech’s management team is convinced that

the union will not consent to the use of this paint even if the PPE is purchased and

the training is provided. To complicate matters, the supplier of the paint cannot

provide the training within a time frame that meets Mil-Tech’s needs. In a secret

meeting, top management officials decide to purchase PPE, use the new paint, and

forgo the training. More importantly, the management team decides to withhold all

information about the hazards associated with the new paint. Camillo Garcia, Mil-

Tech’s safety and health manager, was not invited to the secret meeting. However,

the decisions made during the meeting were slipped to him anonymously. Garcia

now faces an ethical dilemma. What should he do? If he chooses to do nothing, Mil-

Tech employees may be inappropriately exposed to an extremely hazardous

substance. If he confronts the management team with what he knows, he could fall

into disfavor or even lose his job. If he shares what he knows with union leaders, he

may be called on to testify about what he knows. This is an example of the type of

ethical dilemma that safety and health professionals face on the job.

ETHICS DEFINED

There are many definitions of the term ethics. However, no one definition has

emerged as universally accepted. As applied to business, the concept means “. . .

written and unwritten codes of principles and values that govern decisions and

actions within a company. In the business world, the organization’s culture sets

standards for determining the difference between good and bad decision making

and behavior. In the most basic terms, a definition for business ethics boils down to

knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing what is right.

According to Arlow and Ulrich, ethical dilemmas in the workplace are more complex

than ethical situations in general.4 They involve societal expectations, competition,

and social responsibility as well as the potential consequences of an employee’s

behavior on customers, coworkers, competitors, and the public at large. The result

of the often-conflicting and contradictory interests of workers, customers,

competitors, and the general public is a natural tendency for ethical dilemmas to

occur frequently in the workplace. Anytime that ethics is the topic of discussion,

such terms as conscience, morality, and legality are frequently heard. Although

these terms are closely associated with ethics, they do not, by themselves, define it.

For the purpose of this book, ethics is defined as follows:

Ethics is the application of morality within a context established by cultural and

professional values, social norms, and accepted standards of behavior.

Figure 26–1

Guidelines to determine what

is ethical.

Morality refers to the values that are subscribed to and fostered by society in

general and individuals within society. Ethics attempts to apply reason in

determining rules of human conduct that translate morality into everyday behavior.

Ethical behavior is that which falls within the limits prescribed by morality. How,

then, does a safety and health professional know if someone’s behavior is ethical?

Ethical questions are rarely black and white. They typically fall into a gray area

between the two extremes of right and wrong. Personal experience, self-interest,

point of view, and external pressure often cloud this gray area further.

Guidelines for Determining Ethical Behavior

Guidelines are needed for safety and health professionals to use when trying to sort

out matters that are not clearly right or wrong. First, however, it is necessary to

distinguish between the concepts of legal and ethical. They are not the same thing.

Just because an option is legal does not necessarily mean it is ethical. In fact, it is not

uncommon for people caught in the practice of questionable behavior to use the “I

didn’t do anything illegal” defense. A person’s behavior can be well within the scope

of the law and still be unethical. The following guidelines for determining ethical

behavior assume that the behavior in question is legal (Figure 26–1):

1. Is the decision truthful?

2. Is the decision fair to all stakeholders?

3. Will the decision generate goodwill for my organization?

Guidelines for Ethical Choices

1 . Apply the morning-after test

2. Apply the front-page test

3. Apply the mirror test

4. Apply the role-reversal test

5. Apply the commonsense test

4. Is the decision beneficial to all stakeholders?

If a potential course of action is not legal, no further consideration is in order. If an

action is not legal, it is also not ethical. If an action is balanced, it is fair to all

involved. This means that safety and health professionals and their team members

have responsibilities that extend well beyond the walls of their unit, organization,

and company. If a course of action is in keeping with your own moral structure, it

will make you feel good about yourself. “Another way of making sure decisions are

truly ethical is by using the publicity test. Ask yourself how you would feel if your

actions were published in your hometown newspaper. If you would be comfortable

having your parents, grade school teachers, and other people find out what you did,

chances are that your decision is an ethical one. However, if you would not want

these individuals to learn about your actions, you probably need to rethink your

decision. These tests and guidelines will help safety and health professionals make

ethical choices in the workplace. In addition to internalizing the guidelines

themselves, safety and health professionals may want to share these values with all

employees with whom they interact.

ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS

Research by Trevino suggests that ethical behavior in organizations is influenced by

both individual and social factors. 7 Trevino identified three personality measures

that can influence an employee’s ethical behavior: (1) ego strength, (2)

Machiavellianism, and (3) locus of control. An employee’s ego strength is his or her

ability to undertake self-directed tasks and to cope with tense situations. A measure

of a worker’s Machiavellianism is the extent to which he or she will attempt to

deceive and confuse others. Locus of control is the perspective of workers

concerning who or what controls their behavior. Employees with an internal locus

of control feel that they control their own behavior. Employees with an external

locus of control feel that their behavior is controlled by external factors (for

example, rules, regulations, their safety and health professional). Social factors also

influence ethical behavior in organizations. 8 These factors include gender, role

differences, religion, age, work experience, nationality, and the influence of other

people who are significant in an individual’s life. Luthans and Kreitner state that

people learn appropriate behavior by observing the behavior of significant role

models (parents, teachers, public officials, and so on).9 Because safety and health

professionals represent a significant role model for their team members, it is critical

that they exhibit ethical behavior that is beyond reproach in all situations.

SAFETY AND HEALTH PROFESSIONALS’ ROLE IN ETHICS

Using the guidelines set forth in the previous section, safety and health professionals

should be able to make responsible decisions concerning ethical choices.

Unfortunately, deciding what is ethical is much easier than actually doing what is

ethical. In this regard, trying to practice ethics is like trying to diet. It is not so much

a matter of knowing you should cut down eating, it is a matter of following through

and actually doing it. It is this fact that defines the role of safety and health

professionals with regard to ethics. Their role has three parts. First, they are

responsible for setting an example of ethical behavior. Second, they are responsible

for helping fellow employees make the right decision when facing ethical questions.

Finally, safety and health professionals are responsible for helping employees follow

through and actually undertake the ethical option once the appropriate choice has

been identified. In carrying out their roles, safety and health professionals can adopt

one of the following approaches (Figure 26–2): the bestratio approach, the black-

and-white approach, or the full-potential approach.

Figure 26–2

Three basic approaches to

handling ethical problems.

Full-potential

approach

Black-and-

white

approach

Best-ratio

approach

Seftey fact

Models for Determining Ethical Behavior

In addition to the various tests that can be used for determining ethical behavior,

there are also numerous models:

• Categorical imperative (black and white)

• Conventionalistic ethic (anything legal is ethical)

• Disclosure rule (explain actions to a wide audience)

• Doctrine of the mean (virtue through moderation)

• The Golden Rule (do unto others . . . )

•Intuition rule (what is right is just known)

• Market ethic (whatever makes a profit is right)

• Means–end ethic (end justifies the means)

• Might-equals-right ethic (self-explanatory)

• Organizational ethic (loyalty to the organization)

• Practical imperative (treat people as ends, not means)

• Equal freedom (full freedom unless it deprives another)

• Proportionality ethic (good outweighs the bad)

• Professional ethic (do only what can be explained to your peers)

• Revelation ethic (answers revealed by prayer)

• Rights ethic (protect rights of others)

• Theory of justice (impartial, even-handed)

Best-Ratio Approach

The best-ratio approach is the pragmatic approach. Its philosophy is that people are

basically good and under the right circumstances behave ethically. However, under

certain conditions, they can be driven to unethical behavior. Therefore, the safety

and health professional should do everything possible to create conditions that

promote ethical behavior and try to maintain the best possible ratio of good choices

to bad. When hard decisions must be made, the appropriate choice is the one that

does the most good for the most people. This is sometimes referred to as situational

ethics.

Black-and-White Approach

Using the black-and-white approach, right is right, wrong is wrong, and

circumstances are irrelevant. The safety and health professional’s job is to make

ethical decisions and carry them out. It is also to help employees choose the ethical

route. When difficult decisions must be made, safety and health professionals should

make fair and impartial choices regardless of the outcome.

Full-Potential Approach

Safety and health professionals who use the full-potential approach make decisions

based on how the outcomes affect the ability of those involved to achieve their full

potential. The underlying philosophy is that people are responsible for realizing

their full potential within the confines of morality. Choices that can achieve this goal

without infringing on the rights of others are considered ethical. Decisions made

may differ, depending on the approach selected. For example, consider the ethical

dilemma presented at the beginning of this chapter. If the safety and health

manager, Camillo Garcia, applies the best-ratio approach, he may decide to keep

quiet, encourage the proper use of PPE, and hope for the best. On the other hand, if

he takes the black-and-white approach, he will be compelled to confront the Mil-

Tech management team with what he knows.

Figure 26–3

Ethics cannot be practiced

in a vacuum. The company

has a critical role to play.

COMPANY’S ROLE IN ETHICS

Industrial firms have a critical role to play in promoting ethical behavior among

their employees. Safety and health professionals cannot set ethical examples alone

or expect employees to behave ethically in a vacuum. A company’s role in ethics can

be summarized as (1) creating an internal environment that promotes, expects, and

rewards ethical behavior; and (2) setting an example of ethical behavior in all

external dealings (Figure 26–3).

Creating an Ethical Environment

A company creates an ethical environment by establishing policies and practices

that ensure all employees are treated ethically and then enforcing these policies. Do

employees have the right of due process? Do employees have access to an objective

grievance procedure? Are there appropriate safety and health measures to protect

employees? Are hiring practices fair and impartial? Are promotion practices fair and

objective? Are employees protected from harassment based on race, gender, or

other reasons? A company that establishes an environment that promotes, expects,

and rewards ethical behavior can answer “yes” to all of these questions. One

effective way to create an ethical environment is to develop an ethics philosophy

and specific, written guidelines for implementing that philosophy that are shared

The

Company's Role

in

Ethics

Create an ethical

environment

inside the company

Set an example of

ethics in all external

dealings

with all employees. Martin Marietta Corporation of Orlando, Florida, has a Code of

Ethics and Standards of Conduct that is shared with all employees. The code begins

with the following statement of philosophy:

Martin Marietta Corporation will conduct its business in strict compliance with

applicable laws, rules, regulations, and corporate and operating unit policies,

procedures, and guidelines, with honesty and integrity, and with a strong

commitment to the highest standards of ethics. We have a duty to conduct our

business affairs within both the letter and the spirit of the law.10

Discussion case

What Is Your Opinion?

The city council members are in a real quandary about the request from

International Plastics Corporation (I PC) to open a new plant on a 100-acre plot

owned by the city. On one hand, the city needs the new jobs that the I PC plant

would bring—badly. High unemployment is the city’s most serious problem, and

every member of the city council ran on a job-creation platform in the last election.

On the other hand, the council members have learned that I PC is not always a good

corporate citizen in spite of its claims to the contrary.

Several cities with I PC plants have had problems enforcing their safety and

health regulations. The consensus among other cities is that I PC officials say all the

right things until contracts are signed. Then, all of a sudden, they begin to

procrastinate, stonewall, and break promises. Should the city council allow I PC to

build the new plant? What is your opinion?

This statement sets the tone for all employees at Martin Marietta. It lets them know

that higher management not only supports ethical behavior but also expects it. This

approach makes it less difficult for safety and health professionals when they find

themselves caught in the middle between the pressures of productivity and the

maintenance of safe work practices. In addition to its corporate ethics philosophy,

Martin Marietta publishes a more specific Credo and Code of Conduct. The Martin

Marietta credo is summarized as follows:

In our daily activities we bear important obligations to our country, our customers,

our owners, our communities, and to one another. We carry out these obligations

guided by certain unifying principles:

• Our foundation is INTEGRITY

• Our strength is our PEOPLE

• Our style is TEAMWORK

• Our goal is EXCELLENCE

This ethics credo shows employees that they have obligations extending well

beyond their work units and that how they perform their work can have an impact,

negative or positive, on fellow employees, the company, customers, and the country.

Key concepts set forth in the credo are integrity, people, teamwork, and excellence.

Safety and health professionals who stress, promote, and model these concepts will

make a major contribution to ethical behavior in the workplace. Although the

emphasis on ethics in the workplace is relatively new, the concept is not. Robert

Wood Johnson, the leader who built Johnson & Johnson into a major international

corporation, developed an ethics credo for his company as early as the mid 1940s.

12

Johnson’s credo read as follows:

• To customers and users: quality and service at reasonable prices

• To suppliers: a fair opportunity

• To employees: respect, equal opportunity, and a sense of job security

• To communities: a civic responsibility

• To the environment: protection

• To shareholders: a fair return13

Written philosophies and guidelines such as those developed by Martin Marietta

Corporation and Johnson & Johnson are the first step in creating an ethical

environment in the workplace. Safety and health professionals can play a key role in

promoting ethical behavior on the job by encouraging higher management to

develop written ethics philosophies, credos, and guidelines and then by modeling

the behavior that they encourage.

Setting an Ethical Example

Companies that take the “Do as I say, not as I do” approach to ethics will not

succeed. Employees must be able to trust their company to conduct all external and

internal dealings in an ethical manner. Companies that do not pay their bills on time;

companies that pollute; companies that place short-term profits ahead of employee

safety and health; companies that do not live up to advertised quality standards;

companies that do not stand behind their guarantees; and companies that are not

good neighbors in their communities are not setting a good ethical example. Such

companies can expect employees to mimic their unethical behavior. A final word on

the company’s role in ethics is in order. In addition to creating an ethical internal

environment and handling external dealings in an ethical manner, companies must

support safety and health professionals who make ethically correct decisions. This

support must be given not just when such decisions are profitable, but in all cases.

For example, in the ethical dilemma presented earlier in this chapter, say Camillo

Garcia decided that his ethical choice was to confront the management team with

his knowledge of the hazards associated with the new paint. Management gave the

order to withhold critical information. This is obviously the profitable choice in the

short run. But is it the ethical choice? If Camillo Garcia does not think so, will Mil-

Tech stand behind him? If not, everything else that the company does to promote

ethics will fail.

HANDLING OF ETHICAL DILEMMAS

No person will serve long as a safety and health professional without confronting an

ethical dilemma. How, then, should you proceed when confronting an ethical

dilemma? There are three steps (Figure 26–4):

1. Apply the various guidelines for determining what is ethical presented earlier in

this chapter.

2. Select one of the three basic approaches to handling ethical questions.

3. Proceed in accordance with the approach selected, and proceed with consistency.

Apply the Guidelines

In this step, as a safety and health professional, you should apply as many of the

tests set forth in Figure 26–1 as necessary to determine the ethically correct

decision. In applying these guidelines, attempt to block out all mitigating

circumstances and other factors that tend to cloud the issue. At this point, the goal is

only to identify the ethical choice. Deciding whether to implement the ethical choice

comes in the next step.

Select the Approach

When deciding how to proceed after Step 1, you have three basic approaches. These

approaches, as set forth in Figure 26–2, are the best-ratio, black-and-white, and full-

potential approaches. These approaches and their ramifications can be debated ad

infinitum; however, selecting an approach to ethical questions is a matter of

personal choice. Factors that will affect the ultimate decision include your personal

makeup, the expectations of the company, and the degree of company support.

Proceed with the Decision

The approach selected in Step 2 will dictate how you should proceed as a safety and

health professional. Two things are important in this final step. The first is to

proceed in strict accordance with the approach selected. The second is to proceed

consistently. Consistency is critical when handling ethical dilemmas. Fairness is a

large part of ethics, and consistency is a large part of fairness. The grapevine will

ensure that all employees know how a safety and health professional handles an

ethical dilemma. Some will agree, and some will disagree, regardless of the decision.

Such is the nature of human interaction. However, regardless of the differing

perceptions of the problem, employees respect consistency. Conversely, even if the

decision is universally popular, you may lose respect if the decision is not consistent

with past decisions.

Figure 26–4

Handling ethical dilemmas.

Steps for Handling Ethical Dilemmas

1 .Apply the guidelines

2. Select the approach

3. Proceed accordingly and consistently

QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN MAKING DECISIONS

Safety and health professionals often must make decisions that have ethical

dimensions. A constant state of tension often exists between meeting production

schedules and maintaining employee safety. Safety and health professionals usually

are right in the middle of these issues. Following are some questions that can and

should be asked by managers when making decisions about issues that have ethical

dimensions. Safety and health professionals should ask these questions themselves,

and they should encourage other decision makers within their organizations to do

the same.

• Has the issue or problem been thoroughly and accurately defined?

• Have all dimensions of the problem (productivity, quality, cost, safety, health, and

soon) been identified?

• Would other stakeholders (employees, customers) agree with your definition of

the problem?

• What is your real motivation in making this decision? Meeting a deadline?

Outperforming another organizational unit, or a competitor? Self-promoting?

Getting the job done right? Protecting the safety and health of employees? Some

combination of these?

• What is the probable short-term result of your decision? What is the probable

longterm result?

• Who will be affected by your decision and in what way? In the short term?In the

long term?

• Did you discuss the decision with all stakeholders (or all possible stakeholders)

before making it?

• Would your decision withstand the scrutiny of employees, customers, colleagues,

and the general public?

Safety professionals should ask themselves these questions, but equally important,

they should insist that other managers do so. The manager responsible for meeting

this month’s production quota may be so focused on the numbers that he or she

overlooks safety. The manager who is feeling the pressure to cut production costs

may make decisions that work in the short term but have disastrous consequences

in the long term. Questions such as those posed above can help managers broaden

their focus and consider the long-range impact when making decisions.

ETHICS AND WHISTLE-BLOWING

What can safety and health professionals do when their employer is violating legal

or ethical standards? The first option, of course, should be to bring violations to the

attention of appropriate management executives through established channels. In

most cases, this will be sufficient to stop the illegal or unethical behavior. But what

about those occasions when the safety and health professional is ignored or, worse

yet, told to “mind your own business”? These are the types of situations that have

led to the concept of whistle-blowing, which can be defined as follows:

Problems with Whistle-Blowing

American society has an interesting attitude toward the concept of whistle-blowing.

There seems to be an inherent uneasiness with the concept that is deeply rooted in

the American psyche. Even when the illegal or unethical practice in question

threatens the safety and health of employees, some people still don’t like whistle-

blowers. There is often a “don’t tell” mentality that causes whistle-blowers to be

shunned and viewed as outcasts. As children we learned not to be “tattle-tales.”

Many adults still seem to hold to this philosophy. The “don’t be a tattle-tale” attitude

is only one of the problems that works against whistle-blowing. Others are as

follows:

• Retribution. People who blow the whistle on their employer may be subjected to

retribution. They may be fired, transferred to an undesirable location, or reassigned

to an undesirable job. They may also be shunned. There are numerous ways—legal

ways—for an employer to take retribution against a whistle-blower.

• Damaged relationships and hostility. Blowing the whistle about an illegal or

unethical practice can often damage relationships. Somebody—by commission or

omission—is responsible. That person or those persons may be disciplined as a

result. When this happens, people tend to choose sides; this, in turn, leads to

damaged relationships. Damaged relationships are often manifested as hostility

directed toward the whistle-blower.

• Loss of focus. Whistle-blowers often find that their time, energy, and attention are

overtaken by the events surrounding the claim of illegal or unethical behavior.

Rather than focusing on doing their jobs, they find themselves dealing with

retribution, damaged relationships, and hostility.

• Scapegoating. Negative consequences certainly can occur as a result of whistle-

blowing. Because of this, some safety and health professionals may decide to ignore

the issue or to raise it to the next level of management and let it drop there. The

problem with this approach is the issue of accountability. When an employee is

injured or the environment is damaged, the actions of safety and health

professionals are certain to be closely scrutinized. “Did you know about the

hazardous condition?” “Did you do everything in your power to prevent the accident

or incident?” These types of questions are always asked when litigation is brought,

as is often the case. An irresponsible organization facing charges of negligence may

begin looking for a convenient scapegoat. One obvious candidate in such situations

is the organization’s chief safety and health professional.

Whistle-blowing is the act of informing an outside authority or media organ

of alleged illegal or unethical acts on the part of an organization or individual.

OSHA and Whistle-Blowing

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) dealt with the issue of

whistleblowing for certain employees when it adopted regulations governing the

employee protection provisions of Section 211 (formerly 210) of the Energy

Reorganization Act (ERA).

Discussion Case

What Is Your Opinion?

Following are two ethical dilemmas that a safety and health professional may face.

What is the right thing to do in each case? What is your opinion?

• You are the safety director for West Coast Power Company. Your son is a line

worker for a branch of the company that is located in another city. He is visiting you

while recuperating from a back injury for which he is collecting workers’

compensation. While visiting, he jogs, lifts weights, and plays softball with friends.

You finally realize that he is not really injured. What should you do?

• The manufacturing director and the union representative have just had a chin-to-

chin argument about removing the new machine guards from the milling machines.

They have asked you—the company’s safety director—to mediate the dispute.

According to the manufacturing director, “We ran these machines for five years

without an accident. The only reason we put them on was because some OSHA

inspector suggested it. They’re fine when we are not in a hurry, but they slow us

down when the rush is on. Unless we remove the guards, this job will not be shipped

on time.” The union representative counters by saying, “These machines are

dangerous.” What is the right thing to do here? What is your opinion?

This statute makes it illegal for an employer covered by the act to discharge or

otherwise discriminate against an employee in terms of compensation, conditions,

or privileges of employment because the employee or any person acting at an

employee’s request performs a protected activity.

Employers covered by the ERA include the following:

• Licensees of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or an agreement state (including

applicants for a license)

• A contractor or subcontractor of a licensee or applicant

• A contractor or subcontractor of the Department of Energy

Key provisions of the ERA are summarized as follows:

• Right to raise a safety concern. You are engaged in protected activity when you (1)

notify your employer of an alleged violation of the ERA; (2) refuse to engage in any

practice made unlawful by the ERA if you have identified the alleged illegality to the

employer; (3) testify before Congress or at any federal or state proceeding

regarding any provision or proposed provision of the ERA; (4) commence or cause

to be commenced a proceeding under the ERA, or a proceeding for the

administration or enforcement of any requirement imposed under the ERA; (5)

testify or are about to testify in any such proceeding; or (6) assist or participate in

such a proceeding or in any other action to carry out the purposes of the ERA.

• Unlawful acts by employers. It is unlawful for an employer to intimidate, threaten,

restrain, coerce, blacklist, discharge, or in any other manner discriminate against

any employee because this employee has engaged in a protected activity.

• Complaint. An employee or employee representative may file a complaint charging

discrimination in violation of the ERA within 180 days of the discriminatory action.

A complaint must be in writing and should include a full statement of facts,

including the protected activity engaged in by the employee, knowledge by the

employer of the protected activity and the basis for believing that the activity

resulted in discrimination against the employee by the employer. A complaint may

be filed in person or by mail at the nearest local office of OSHA, U.S. Department of

Labor; or with the Office of the Assistant Secretary, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor,

Washington, DC.

• Enforcement. OSHA will review the complaint to ensure that it makes an initial

showing of discrimination. If not, or if the employer provides clear and convincing

evidence that there was no discrimination, there will be no investigation. If the

required showing is made, OSHA will notify the employer and conduct an

investigation to determine whether a violation has occurred. Either the employee or

the employer may request a hearing.

• Relief. If discrimination is found, the employer will be required to provide

appropriate relief, including reinstatement (even if the period is between the

decision and appeal), back wages or compensation for injury suffered from the

discrimination, and attorney’s fees and costs.

Noncovered Whistle-Blowing

The ERA covers a number of different types of organizations, but most employers

fall outside the law’s coverage. Consequently, employees in many organizations

have no special protection when they blow the whistle on an unethical employer.

This is one more reason why safety and health professionals should encourage their

employers to develop comprehensive safety and health policies. A key element of

such a policy should be a mechanism that allows employees to raise questions about

safety and health concerns. Such a mechanism should contain provisions that

protect employees who raise concerns from retribution by the employer.

Discussion Case

What Is Your Opinion?

Jack Wilson, safety director for Vitacom, Inc. is facing a dilemma. His employer is

seeking registration as an ISO 14000 company. Internal assessments and trial audits

show that the company isready and will probably pass the registration audit with

flying colors. If so, Vitacom will be able todouble its business in just two years. A

European company is looking for a partner in the UnitedStates. Vitacom wants to be

that partner, but ISO 14000 registration is a prerequisite.Vitacom looks good on

paper, but Wilson knows of a least two serious environmental problemsthat the

company is covering up rather than correcting. Vitacom’s Environmental

ManagementPlan, required by ISO 14000, shows that the environmental problems

have been corrected. Theyhaven’t. Worse yet, Wilson has been warned to say or do

nothing that may jeopardize Vitacom’sISO 14000 registration. On the other hand, if

the environmental problems in question are notcorrected soon, the community’s

water supply could be contaminated in the future. What shouldWilson do?

SUMMARY

1. Ethics is the application of morality within a context established by cultural and

professional values, social norms, and accepted standards of behavior. Morality

refers tothe values that are subscribed to and fostered by society. Ethics attempts to

apply reasonin determining rules of human conduct that translate morality into

everyday behavior.

2. Ethical behavior is that which falls within the limits prescribed by morality.

3. Legal and ethical are not the same. If something is illegal, it is also unethical.

However, just because something is legal does not mean that it is ethical. An act can

be legal but unethical.

4. To determine if a choice is ethical, you can apply the following tests: morning-

after,front-page, mirror, role-reversal, and commonsense.

5. Safety and health professionals have a three-pronged role with regard to ethics.

Theyare responsible for setting an ethical example, helping employees identify the

ethicalchoices when facing ethical questions, and helping employees follow through

and actually undertake the ethical option.

6. Safety and health professionals have three approaches available in handling

ethicaldilemmas: best-ratio, black-and-white, and full-potential.

7. The company’s role in ethics is to create an ethical environment and to set an

ethicalexample. An effective way is to develop a written ethics philosophy and share

it with all employees.

8. Three personality characteristics that can influence an employee’s ethical

behaviorare ego strength, Machiavellianism, and locus of control.

9. People facing ethical dilemmas should apply the tests for determining what is

ethical,select one of the three basic approaches, and proceed consistently.

10. Whistle-blowing is the act of informing an outside authority or the media of

allegedillegal or unethical acts on the part of an organization or individual.

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

Best-ratio approach

Black-and-white approach

Commonsense test

Conscience

Consistency

Ego strength

Ethical behavior

Ethical environment

Ethics

Ethics credo

Ethics philosophy

Front-page test

Full-potential approach

Gray area

Legality

Locus of control

Machiavellianism

Mirror test

Morality

Morning-after test

Perspective

Purpose

Role-reversal test

Values

Whistle-blowing

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Define the term morality.

2. Define the term ethics.

3. Briefly explain each of the following ethics tests: morning-after, front-page,

mirror, role-reversal, and commonsense.

4. What is the safety and health professional’s role with regard to ethics?

5. Briefly explain the following approaches to handling ethical behavior: best-

ratio,black-and-white, and full-potential.

6. Briefly explain a company’s role with regard to ethics.

7. Explain how one should proceed when facing an ethical dilemma.

8. Write a brief ethics philosophy for a chemical company.

9. List the individual and social factors that may influence an employee’s ethical

behavior.

10. What questions should safety and health professionals ask when making

decisionsthat have an ethical component?

11. Explain the most common problems associated with whistle-blowing.

ENDNOTES

1. “A Definition for Business Ethics.” Retrieved from

www.business.lovetoknow.cora/wiki/A_Definition_for_Business_Ethicson March 17,

2009.

2. E. W. Stead, D. L. Worrell, and J. G. Stead, “An Integrative Model for

Understandingand Managing Ethical Behavior in Business Organizations,” Journal of

BusinessEthics 5, no. 9: 233.

3. “A Definition for Business Ethics.”

4. P. Arlow and T. A. Ulrich, “Business Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Business

Students: An Empirical Comparison of Clark’s Study,” Akron Business and Economic

Review 4, no. 3: 17–23.

5. “A Definition for Business Ethics.”

6. Ibid.

7. L. K. Trevino, “Ethical Decision Making in Organizations: A Person-Situation

Interactionist Model,” Academy of Management Review 11, no. 3: 601–617.

8. “A Definition of Business Ethics.”

9. F. Luthans and R. Kreitner, Organizational Behavior Modification and Beyond:

AnOperant and Social Learning Approach (Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman).

10. Martin Marietta Corporation, Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct (Orlando,

FL:Corporate Ethics Office), inside front cover.

11. Ibid., 2.

12. Johnson & Johnson. “Our Credo Values.” Retrieved from www.jnj.com on March

17, 2009.

13. Ibid., 33.