In-House Counsel Legal Rights - Legal and Ethical Issues in Management

In-House Counsel Legal Rights

Final Exam

Legal and Ethical Issues in Management

Domino Holmes

There comes a time in one`s professional career where^[a] faced with a moral and ethical decision whether or not to “blow the whistle”.  Utilitarian theories believe that moral actions and or practices are determined by the consequences, the right actions and practices will lead to good consequences over unfortunate implications for all parties affected ^{[b][c][d][e][f][g][h][i][j]}(Arnold, 2013).  It is not an easy decision morally to blow the whistle because of the potential consequences that could occur ethically, and for the benefit of the public^[k][l].  Any and all illegal acts should be reported.  There are two aspects one would consider with whistleblowing is retaliation and at will employment.  When an employer terminates an employee for anything other than work performance it is referred to as retaliatory discharge^[m] (Larson, 2003).  Retaliatory discharge is considered a form of wrongful termination, and wrongful termination is a federal violation (Larson, 2003).  At-will employment is referring contractual relationships exercising the employer’s right to terminate an employee for any reason and without warning, however, there ^[n]are three exceptions to the rule (Larson, 2003). The Civil Rights Acts in 1964 established the anti-discrimination laws that prevented employers from terminating an employee due to their national origin, age, gender, and religion^[o][p][q][r] (Larson, 2003). The first exception is the “implied contract.” Under this particular contract the legal rights of the employers and employees are explained. In addition, the contract thoroughly clarifies how employment can be terminated at any time (Larson, 2003).  The second exception is the “public policy exception,” recognized in 43 out of 50 states^[s], which is applied when an employee is terminated for the refusal of fulfilling a task that could potentially cause harm to the public, and/or commits an illegal act^[t][u] (Larson, 2003).  The third and final exception, includes the “covenant of good faith.” This exception is applied when an employer’s personnel decisions are subject to a "just cause" standard or terminations made in bad faith motivated by ^[v]whistleblowing is prohibited (Larson, 2003). Additionally, the employee has the right to terminate their employment. The "at will" employment works both ways since the employee is not bound by contract (Larson, 2003).  ^{[w][x][y][z][aa]}However, ^[ab][ac][ad]there have been many controversy arguments debating whether or not these rights should be extended to an in-house counsel (Marshall, 2001).^[ae]