Part One: Work as an Ideal, versus Work as a Necessary Evil

Two Attitudes toward Work

The pessimistic attitude toward work.

This view sees work as something that is, in itself, bad. It is necessary, however, because in most cases it is the only way that society can produce what it needs and the only way that its members can earn a living.

This view often assumes that work is by its very nature a form of unpleasant drudgery which by its very nature is no in itself a good thing.

The Optimistic attitude toward work (a.k.a. the "Human Fulfillment" view)

This attitude sees work as at least a potential good in itself.

Although work can be and often is unpleasant drudgery, the right kind of work can be a source of deep fulfillment.

The Judeo-Christian view of work

Work in the Bible

The "Protestant work ethic"

Pope John Paul II: humans as co-creators

Marx’s theory of alienation

Marx held that work is a vital part of human nature, and that fulfilling work is a basic human need

According to Marx, one of the great tragedies of the industrial revolution is that it reorganized work in such a way as to "alienate" the worker from the work.

 

Toward Ideal Work: Making Work More Fulfilling

Topic 6: Work and Worker Rights

Part Two: Basic Moral (and Some Legal) Rights of Workers

In Part One we painted a picture of the best that work could be. In Part Two we look at the "moral minimum," that is, the worst that work should ever be allowed to be. In other words, we will be looking a that the basic rights of workers.

Health and Safety

It seems obvious that it is immoral to subject workers to conditions that threaten their health or safety.

However, things get more complicated because virtually every activity has some risk, and it is impossible to eliminate all health and safety risks from the workplace. Further complicating matters is the fact that it costs money to reduce risks.

There have been two main approaches to determining how to properly balance the workers’ rights to a safe workplace with the employer’s need to operate economically:

The market

Government regulation

Question: From moral and public policy perspective, which approach is better?

 

Power in the Workplace: Monitoring and Control of workers

The basic conflict: The employer often wants to know about and exercise control over things about the employee that s/he does not want the employer to know.

Employment at Will–The ultimate power

Traditionally, the legal relationship between a private employer and the individual worker was seen as being totally voluntary or "at will" on both sides; in the absence of any contract to the contrary, it could be terminated by either party at any time.

Question: what was the moral basis for the legal doctrine of employment at will?

Legal limits to Employment at will: Over time employment at will was subjected to various legal limitations.

Federal limitations: It is a violation of federal law to fire someone

For reasons of race, sex, religion, or national origin (Civil Rights Act).

For union activities (NLRA, 1935)

For exercising certain legal rights under various specific federal laws

Other limitations to employment at will have grown out of case law and state statutes:

It is usually illegal to fire someone for reasons that violate public policy.

It is generally illegal to fire someone for exercising certain legally protected rights and duties

In many cases, it has been held to be illegal for an employer to fire an employee for reasons that violate policies and procedures in its employees’ handbook.

Question: What is the moral basis for these legal limitations to employment at will?

Minimum conditions for a morally sound discipline and discharge policy

Just Cause

Due Process

 

Privacy and the monitoring of employees. Employers have a great deal of legal freedom to monitor various aspects of the lives of workers

On the job activities

Direct observation, including the use of cameras. (Generally legal, so long as they do not invade areas where there is a "reasonable expectation" of privacy,)

Monitoring of workplace communications such as phones and email. (often legal)

Using undercover operatives (generally legal, within limits)

Off the job activities: Gathering information about off-job behavior is often legal, depending on the level of intrusiveness of the methods used.

The worker him/herself

Drug testing (often legal)

Psychological and "honesty" testing (generally legal).

(Note that requiring employees to take a polygraph exam is usually illegal under the federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act.)

 

Moral Issues about Power, Control, and Freedom: What should the limits be?

The sources of the conflict

Question: What justifications are there for the employer’s desire to monitor and control various aspects of the behavior of workers?

Question: What justifications are there for the worker’s desire to limit the amount and scope of employer control and monitoring?

Three basic moral values: Choice, Privacy, and Free Expression

Freedom

A fundamental moral and political principle is that persons have the right to choose their own way of life

The main limit to this right is that these choices must not harm other people

Privacy

Related to freedom, and sometimes confused with it.

Privacy, however, has to do with controlling information rather than choosing one’s own way of life.

Question: Why do we desire a zone of privacy, and what moral justification can be given for this desire?

Freedom of expression

It seems clearly immoral (and even un-American) to penalize or fire an employee for exercising the rights to free expression that we as a society hold so dear.

Notice that the right to free expression is not absolute, either morally or legally.

Question: To what extent, if any, is it legitimate for an employer to attempt to influence or limit the worker’s freedom of expression?

 

Collective Bargaining and Unions

Topic 6: Work and Workers’ Rights

Part Three: Discrimination

The Basic Moral Premises behind Laws and Policies against Discrimination

Fairness

Harm/benefit

Reversibility

Like cases (analogy)

 

Specific Laws, Court Cases and Legal Concepts You Should Be Familiar with

Affirmative action

Definition al questions: How affirmative is affirmative action?

Quotas and set-asides

Diversity as a factor

Attempting to attract diverse applicant pool

Arguments

Leveling the playing-field (Question: How uneven is the playing field?)

Reverse discrimination (Question: Who pays the cost of AA programs?)

Reparations

Diversity as a qualification (Question: Is the potential to increase the diversity of the workforce a BFOQ (morally if not legally) of minority applicants?)

Question: How far should society go in order to combat discrimination?

 

Sexual Harassment:

The moral bottom line: It is UNFAIR for someone to have to work in an environment that is unnecessarily hostile; in such an environment, the victim is essentially a captive audience.