Archive for business ethics
Supreme Court Advocates for the Disabled Against the Insurance Companies
A very important decision came down from the Supreme Court yesterday. The case involved a woman who became disabled while working for Sears. The insurance company at first paid her benefits but two years later decided to “reevaluate” whether or not the woman, Wanda Glenn, was still disabled. A doctor said in one appointment that she would be able to do some sedentary work, but he decided shortly thereafter that he had made a mistake and that work of any kind would be of high risk to her health. The insurance company though, Metlife, continued to deny her benefits despite the opinions of her physician. The case went to the Supreme Court though and yesterday the opinion came down that there was a conflict of interest because the insurance company was both deciding whether insurance claims were legitimate and paying the benefits. Glenn was supported by the AARP and the Supreme Court sided with her. What a great victory against the insurance company. Frankly, I think the fact that insurance companies are for-profit companies is absolutely ludicrous. How completely unethical to profit off of other people’s health issues. You can read the full story on the case here.
Wal-Mart: We’re rolling back business ethics
If you haven’t heard, Wal-mart has been sued for failing to accommodate and firing a pharmacy worker who became disabled after being shot in a robbery. The woman was still able to do her job but used a cane and required moderate accommodations. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Wal-mart, who is expected to settle out of court for $250,000 in damages and restructure their policies. You can read more on this story here.
Honestly, it’s about time someone went after Wal-mart and their discriminatory practices and horrible business ethics. Evidently this is not the first case this year either. Wal-mart lost another $300,000 earlier this year for another case involving the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It seems it would cost them less to employ better business practices rather than continue to be sued for large sums of money for discrimination. This is absolutely disgusting.





