Nike 海外剥削以及血汗工厂的探讨.docx

1、Nike 海外剥削以及血汗工厂的探讨Nikes Oversea ExploitationAnd Ethic DiscussionEthic and Law PaperDr. Sue MotaNovember 15, 2011Linhui LiuIntroductionWith the development of global economy, industries and services were highly diversified in last century. Because more and more companies were established after the In

2、dustrial Revolution, more employees were needed and the relationship between employees and employers was changed from personal-relationship to contractual relationship. In the production process, employers pursue the maximum profit which is caused by selling more production and cutting the average c

3、ost. However, employees seek maximum payment, safe working environment, appropriate pressure, and good welfare system to protect their rights in the future. This difference of goals between two parties arouses the contradiction between the two parties; and the change to their relationship sharpened

4、it. Because of this, exploitation appeared. Exploitation is that certain persons are being mistreated or unfairly used for the benefit of others (Arneson 1992, p350), and exists in many fields. In this paper, I focus on the economic exploitation which can be concluded as the act of using another per

5、sons labor without offering them an adequate compensation. On employers aspect, they want to pay the least salaries and to provide the cheapest diet and the shabbiest plant to their employees, because they can reduce their expenses in this way. This is also what employers always do. They have the si

6、gnificant amount of resources to control employees by providing jobs. In result, regulations and legislations were established to protect the weak by the federal government. In this paper, I will focus on the law issues in the U.S. about protecting employees rights, and introduce the Fair Labor Stan

7、dards Act (FLSA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The fact of exploitation by the Nike Company which is the lead of the sports products industry will be presented as an example to extend ethic discussion based on the federal l

8、aw. Moreover, I will also focus on the International laws to protect oversea laborers that are in companies of U.S. Todays labor market is broader than it was in past 1 or 2 decades. Domestic law issues must be certain to protect all employees which includes they are from other countries. Based on N

9、ikes exploitation in Asia, I will illustrate the importance of the International protection, what the government did to protect oversea employees, and what other companies can learn from this experience.Federal Laws to Protect Employees Rights In the past 50 years, the federal government passed the

10、series of legislations affecting employee rights. They are Workers Compensation Laws, Social Security Act, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Equal Pay Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and Family and Medical Leave Act (Jennings, 2006, p

11、742). In this paper, I will pay more attention to the FLSA, OSHA, and ERISA and briefly introduce the other laws and acts.The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is always called the “Wages and Hours Bill”. In another words, it establishes a minimum wage, and also involves laws to regulate child labor,

12、overtime pay requirements, and equal pay provisions (Jennings, 2006, p742). According to The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (2011), (a) The Congress finds that the existence, in industries engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, of labor conditions detrimental t

13、o the maintenance of the minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers (b) It is declared to be the policy of this chapter, through the exercise by Congress of its power to regulate commerce among the several States and with foreign nations, to correc

14、t and as rapidly as practicable to eliminate the conditions above referred to in such industries without substantially curtailing employment or earning power. It illustrates that the Congress has the power and enforcement to regulate companies and institutions to give their employees basic rights wh

15、ich are included in the FLSA. The Congress also establishes the minimum wage; and it is raised not periodically, depending on the development of economic.All employees in businesses that affect interstate commerce are covered by the FLSA must be paid a minimum wage. However, there are some exemption

16、s: Independent contractors Agriculture, fishing, and domestic service White-collar management Executive, administrative, and professional peopleBased on expressions of Jennings (2006), independent contractors are those who work on a job basis, work irregular hours, and are not supervised by the empl

17、oyer. For example, some typists hired and paid on a per-job basis (per paper or per hundred words) are independent contractors. The so-called “white-collar” employees are considered with sufficient training, knowledge, and experience to counter their employer unfairness (p758). The FLSA also include

18、s regulations to protect covered employees working hours. It regulates that the working hours for a covered employee are 40 hours per week. It also regulates the wage for the hour worked above 40 hours per week is 1.5 times of the regular wage. Although the pay period for covered employees is differ

19、ent from each company, overtime is calculated on the basis of 40 hours per week. If a company or institution violates the FLSA, the corporation is liable and officers of the corporation can be held individually liable for the corporations violations. The fines of violation are a maximum $10,000 for

20、the first time; and $10,000 fine and or six-month imprisonment for the second time. Employees cannot be fired for reporting violations. (Jennings, 2006, p744) As an amendment to the FLSA, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 “makes it illegal to pay different wages based on gender to men and women who are doin

21、g substantially the same work” (Jennings, 2006, p745). This act protects women from being discriminated in workplaces. To keep workers working in a safe workplace, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) was passed by Congress in 1970. It protects thoroughly every employee whose employer has o

22、ne or more employees in the U.S. There were three agencies established to enforce the worker safety standards: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

23、. The OSHA is a part of the Department of Labor, and it is responsible to improve safety standards and enforce them by inspections, citations, and court actions. Both OSHA and OSHRC pay more attention to the common issues of equipment use and protective gear. NIOSH usually focuses on workplace safet

24、y issues (Jennings, 2006, p745). The duties and responsibilities of OHSA are: Post employee rights and promulgate work place safety regulations Require protective gear Keep records of injuries Report fatalities and hazards may cause employees injury Post OSHA citations InspectionsFor example, under

25、the website of OHSA (2011), the employees rights are presented:Workers rights under the OSH ActWorkers are entitled to working conditions that do not pose a risk of serious harm. To help assure a safe and healthful workplace, OSHA also provides workers with the right to: Ask OSHA to inspect their wo

26、rkplace; Use their rights under the law without retaliation and discrimination; Receive information and training about hazards, methods to prevent harm, and the OSHA standards that apply to their workplace. The training must be in a language you can understand; Get copies of test results done to fin

27、d hazards in the workplace; Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses; Get copies of their medical records;According to the website of OHSAs statistics (2011), the “established injury and illness data” and “the workplace injury, illness and fatalities statistics” for every state in the U

28、.S. can also be found. For example the following table is the data of the highest incidence rates of total nonfatal occupational injury and illness cases, 2010:The incident rate for different industry can be figured out easily. OSHA inspections are efficient tools to enforce. “Inspectors can enter t

29、he workplace without delay and at a reasonable time to inspect” (Jennings, 2006, p747). The following aspects are the priorities on inspections: Hazards or conditions that could cause death Employee complaints Investigations of fatal accident sites Particularly hazardous industries Random inspection

30、s incorporating an emphasis on certain types of industries (roofing, lumbering, meat packing, transportation car, truck manufacturing, and longshoring) (Jennings, 2006, p747)The penalties for various types of OSHA violations are different, it is illustrated in detail by Jennings (2006, p747). The su

31、mmary of OSHA penalties is as follows: Type of offenseDescriptionPenaltyWillfulEmployer aware of danger or a repeat violatorUp to $70,000 (not less than $5,000) and/or six months imprisonment $7,000SeriousViolation is a threat to life or could cause serious injury$7,000NonseriousNo threat of serious

32、 injuryUp to $7,000De minimisFailure to post rightsUp to $7,000 per violationFailure to correctCitation not followed$7,000 per dayEmployee impairment and testing issue is another component of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This issue is concerned of the safety problem caused by impaired coworkers in the workplace. However, it is not the main aspect what will be discussed in this paper. Another problem of workers is how they can get money when they retire. Based on the Federal Insur