Should a company be allowed to patent a life form?Does it matter if the life form is a non-sentient organism like a plant?Is there a place where the law can ethically draw a line between life as property and life as beyond any person or business appropriation?
In considering these questions read:Assn for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. (2013), at https://www.supremecourt.gov/
Question 2
Many businesses today, as corporate entities other than sole proprietorships, voice their political and social views in various ways.Chick-fil-A is an example of a business that voiced prominent views on the issue of gay rights, a perception it since has tried to reverse. This news article briefly summarizes the Chick-fil-A controversy:https://www.
The subject of gay rights is an evolving issue of constitutional implications. Another business, a Colorado bakery, stepped into center ring of controversy asserting that First Amendment free exercise of religion overrode Colorado’s discrimination laws requiring equal access of service to the public.For this Forum, consider this case: the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 138 S.Ct. 1718 (2018). (Your written Assignment this week is to prepare a case brief of this case. A copy of the case opinion is attached to the Week 3 Assignment.) Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. was a small bakery, whose owner refused to create and sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple for their wedding because the marriage was against his religious beliefs.
Explain the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in this case.Do you agree with the Court’s decision? Explain.
Compare the outcome of this case to the Court’s finding of race discrimination under the Commerce Clause in Katzenbach v. McClung, 379 U.S. 294 (1964), available at https://caselaw.findlaw.com/
Do you agree that a business entity (other than a sole proprietorship) should have the same First Amendment rights as individual human citizens? Why or why not?
Additional Chick-fil-A reference:Severson, K. (2012, July 25). Chick-fil-A thrust back into the spotlight on gay rights. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2012/
Question 3
Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12112(a), requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to otherwise qualified persons with a disability to enable them to work.The federal government has a similar requirement under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794.What is a “reasonable” accommodation? This is a determination to be made on the facts by the employer on a case-by-case basis.Ultimately, the decision an employer makes may be reviewed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)(or an equivalent state agency) or a court if challenged by an applicant or employee.
PROMPT:CASE STUDY
Adele, a fully qualified specialized registered nurse,is deaf. She relies upon an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter to communicate with hearing individuals in the workplace.Adele applied for a job with Marigold Mercy Receiving and Trauma Center (“MMRTC”), a large medical center that, with all its hubs and subsidiaries, grossed $1.3 billion annually. Adele received a job offer, conditioned upon a health screening and clearance by MMRTC’s occupational health department. She is in fact cleared, but she notified MMRTC that she needed an ASL interpreter as an accommodation for her hearing impairment.The annual salary, including benefits, for her position was approximately $75,000. Upon investigation, MMRTC calculated that the annual cost to MMRTC for the ASL interpreter accommodation would be $120,000; there was the need for a full time interpreter for Adele, plus several situations where two ASL interpreters would be required.In considering Adele’s request for accommodation, the department’s hiring supervisor wrote in an email that the department’s annualHR budget allocation of $3 million could notabsorb the “excessive cost of the additional personnel” of ASL qualified interpreters “for this one nurse.”MMRTC determined the additional salary and personnel would be an “undue hardship,” making the accommodation unreasonable.Therefore, MMRTC did not hire Adele.Did MMRTC violate ADA?
DISCUSS:Was MMRTC within its rights to refuse the accommodation and thus not hire Adele?In considering this case, you should review:1) what is considered a “reasonable” accommodation under ADA; (2) sample accommodations listed by ADA (42 U.S.C. § 12111(9) (2018)) and the EEOC (www.eeoc.gov); and (3)the definition and standard for “undue hardship”(42 U.S.C. § 12111(10)(a) (2018)).Please support your thoughts and conclusion with reasoned analysis.
Question 4
Explain how the philosophy of Milton Friedman could have played a role in BP management’s decision.
Identify one other ethical framework, other than Friedman’s Free Market Ethics, that that is illustrated in BP management’s decision process leading up to this event.
How might BP have avoided this disaster with an enlightened view of corporate social responsibility (CSR)?
Question 5
The business environment, for even the sole proprietor and small company, can be complex. Consider your own life experience and the kind of business you would operate.
What do you find to be one of the most important ethical issues today for a business owner or leader in management (if not an actual business owner)?
What should be the business owner or leader’s approach to this issue (e.g. best ethical framework)?
Include an example.
These links might help with Question 4
Spence, D. (2011). Corporate social responsibility in the oil and gas industry: The importance of reputational risk. Chicago-Kent Law Review, 86, 59-85. Retrieved from: https://repositories.lib.
MacMillan, C. (2016, July 12). The cost of ignoring social responsibility. http://caramacmillan.com/bp-
Verschoor, C. C. (2010). BP still hasn’t learned ethical lessons. Strategic Finance, 92(2), 13-15. Available in University Library. (Search by author or title.)
Kaye, L. (2015, February 19). Five years after Deepwater Horizon, can BP repair its reputation? Marketing and Comms. Sustainable Brands. Retrieved from https://www.sustainablebrands.
Answer preview
. Another similarity between the cases is the outcome of cases. In both cases, the supreme court reversed the decisions of the lower courts and tribunals. I believe that business entities should not have the same First Amendment rights as humans. Exercising First Amendment has proven detrimental for businesses in the country. For instance, in the case of Chick-fil-A, using the First Amendment has affected its business operations in America. Severson (2012) asserts that for years, Chick-Fil-A sponsored organizations that fought same-sex marriages in the country. Mr. Cathy, the CEO of the company, exercised his freedom of religion in line with the First Amendment, which cost the company business in the country. According to Severson (2012), Mr. Cathy, while appearing in interviews, condemned same-sex marriages while terming its legalization as going against God’s wishes. His sentiments were criticized by leaders calling for the company to reconsider its stand. The history of the company as anti-gay has been the undoing of the company and hence the need for separate First Amendment rights for business entities and humans.
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