Analysis of Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance in the Workplace

This essay examines key aspects of law, ethics, and corporate governance in the context of the United States. It begins by discussing the evolution of employee rights, highlighting the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Equal Pay Act, and addressing issues such as minimum wage, protection for minor employees, and discrimination. The essay then delves into the concept of 'employment at will' and its exceptions, analyzing scenarios involving wrongful termination based on religious beliefs, union activities, parental leave, and health conditions. Finally, the essay explores the rights of undocumented workers, including their entitlements to wages, working conditions, and workers' compensation, while also touching upon immigration laws and the role of federal and state governments in regulating immigration. The essay draws on legal precedents and legislation to provide a comprehensive overview of these critical workplace issues.

Running head: LAW, ETHICS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
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LAW, ETHICS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Name of the student:
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Author’s note:

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Question 1
In the territory of the US, there is a period when the workers or employees in a workplace
are at such compassion of their proprietors or employers regarding the job-related benefits and
discrimination, and nothing to say regarding promotions and hiring (Marchiondo Ran and
Cortina 2018). However, during the 20th century, a push for the rights of employees has gained
for any violation of their rights by the employers in an organization. It has resulted in the birth of
a series of essential laws and regulation, as well as programs for protecting the rights of
employees in the workplace (Dessaint, Golubov, and Volpin 2017).
Several issues have been identified in the workplace where the rights of an employee or
worker have violated by the higher authority or employer of that organization (Davidov,
Freedland and Kountouris 2015). The issues, which are arisen in the workplace and the laws or
legislation relating to it, are discussed in this paper. There is a problem regarding the wages of
the employees, and then the federal government of the US has enacted the Fair Labor Standard
Act in the year 2009 to ensure the getting payment of minimum wages. It has ensured that the
workers in the US should have been received or paid a minimum remuneration or wage for such
work in the workplace (England, and Alcorn 2018). The employers of the public sectors, as well
as private sectors, should have to pay at least $ 7.25 in every hour to its members or staffs
(Belser, and Rani 2015). However, several legislators have tried to upsurge the amount, which
has fixed in the Fair Labor Standard Act. This Act has offered special protection to minor
employees in the workplace. It has limited the hours of working of children who are below the
age of 16 years. However, this Act has prohibited employers from employing the employees who
are under the age of 18 years for any particular high-risk jobs (Hindman 2016).

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There is legislation has come into force in the year 1963 for the protection of
discrimination in the workers in the workplace named the Equal Pay Act. The main objectives of
this Act are to prohibit such discrimination on the basis of sex at the time of paying the wages to
the workers by the employers of an organization (Deakin et al. 2015). No employers of an
organization shall discriminate or differentiate in which those employees are being hired,
between the employees in regards to sex at the rate which is less than the minimum wage. The
employers shall not discriminate to the employees at the time of pays the wages to such opposite
sex in the same organization for any equal work and performance, which has required a similar
effort, skill, as well as responsibility (Brake 2016). However, there can be legal discrimination
on several bases of work such as firstly, on the seniority system; secondly, on a merit system;
thirdly, on the system of quality and quantity of the production; fourthly, on any differential
basis of any factor rather than sex (Mamorsky 2019).
In the history of the US, Nullification is one of the legal theory where the state has
possessed a right to invalidate or nullify any of the federal law or rule which is deemed to be
unconstitutional in respect to the constitution of the US, as well as own Constitution of that state
(Simonis 2019). The compact theory of in the US, it has come out that not the federal courts but
the states are the ulterior interpreters in the extension of the powers of the federal governments.
Question 2
The term ‘employment at will’ is one of the US law or rules, which has stated that the
contractual relationship between an employee and employer can be able to terminate for any
cause or at any time without a contract between both of the parties (Hijal-Moghrabi, Sabharwal,
and Berman 2017). However, there are various exceptions in this law such as under Civil Rights

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Act 1964 the employers can not able to fire any of his employees in regards to religion, color,
gender or caste (Hersch and Shinall 2015).
In the given scenario 1, Robert has been fired from his job for exercising his religion and
for taking a lot of time for mediation at the workplace in some specified days. Though he is
employed on such basis of employment-at-will, it is a wrongful termination from his job. There
is an exception of employment-at-will that any employer can not fire his employee for any
religious purpose, which is described in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964 (Rutherglen
2015). Therefore, according to such exception of the employment-at-will, Robert can sue to its
employer for such wrongful termination from his employment.
In the given scenario 2, Lori has terminated Seth from his for starting to set up a union
and failing to show the work for one day. Seth has been employed on the basis of employment-
at-will, where he can be terminated from his job for any purpose at any time. However, it is a
legal right of an employee for being paid and benefits enough from his employer (Gertz 2017).
He has starting to constitute a union for getting such legal rights. Exercising a legal right is an
exception of employment-at-will. Therefore, Seth can sue for such wrongful termination from his
job to his employer Lori, as Seth has been exercising his legal rights.
In the given scenario 3, Lori has refused to allow leave for parental emergencies of Brain.
Brain has gotten his employment on such basis of the employment-at-will. According to this
employment, she can be terminated from her job for any purpose at any time. However, there is
an exception to this rule that an employee can not be discharged for taking any leave for the
purpose of family emergencies, such as parental leave (Secunda 2018). For such exception of
that rule, Brain can be terminated. Therefore, Brain can sue her employer for such wrongful
termination.

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In the given scenario 4, Jackson has been fired from his job as he has failed to show such
a successful result from his research due to the bad condition of his health. As he is employed
under employment-at-will, then he can be fired from his job at any time for any unsuccessful
result. There is an exception to this rule that the employee can not be terminated for any leave for
medical emergencies (Davis 2017). Jackson should take medical leave when he was ill during
research, but he did not do so. For such an unsuccessful result of the study, the employer can
able to terminate from his job following the rules in employment-at-will. Therefore, Jackson can
not be able to sue his boss Jerry for such termination from his employment.
Question 3
The undocumented workers in the territory of the US have similar rights regarding the
wages and working hours as the other employees (Clibborn 2015). Thus, a person who is
working in an organization without any legal immigration eminence can take the same
advantages of the Federal laws in relation to the working hours and wages laws, which are
applied on an authorized employee or worker (Hayes, and Hill 2017). The undocumented
workers, as well as approved workers, are entitled to the state workers’ compensation benefit in
the territory of the US. It has covered all costs or expenses of medical treatment, which has
caused during the course of the employment of an undocumented worker. However, they may
not be entitled to every benefit or in some particular benefits, relating to any job reeducation
benefits (Lazar 2015). If any undocumented worker has been fired from his job because of
claiming of worker’s compensation, it is not as much of clear whether he can able to recover his
income, which has lost for termination. Therefore, an undocumented worker can claim for state
workers’ compensation from his employer in the territory of the US.

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Immigration has been regulated in the federal government level of the US, mainly under
the principles and rules of in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) 1965. For curbing the
illegal immigration, the government has enacted the Immigration Reform and Control Act in the
year 1986, which has denied such welfare benefits of the undocumented immigrants, as well as
strengthening such sanctions to the employers who are hiring them (Tichenor 2016). The
jurisdiction of the federal government regarding the immigration laws, has been consistently
upheld by the Apex Court of the US, which has set aside by the state legislatures for particular
immigrants (Gulasekaram 2018). One of the most disreputable attempts of the state to regulate
immigration in Arizona Senate Bill 1070, which has retained into law in the year 2010. The
Department of Justice in the US has stated that the lawmakers of Arizona have ‘crossed the
constitutional line’ in this new law (Rodriguez 2018). In a lawsuit of the South Carolina
Hispanic Leadership Council against the South Carolina State has alleged that such latest
regulations relating to immigration that is S. B. is unconstitutional (Ballesteros 2015). The
federal government of the US has challenged or confronted several state laws in relation to the
jurisdiction, where it has claimed that the patchwork of such diversity in the immigration laws
will not fix the immigration system in this country. Therefore, in response to such diversity of
the immigration system, it can be said that in a country, there should be one immigration system
or policy to reduce or control such policy.

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