Mary and Tomas own a small grocery store. They cannot afford to hire another emp
ID: 392180 • Letter: M
Question
Mary and Tomas own a small grocery store. They cannot afford to hire another employee at prevailing wages. Instead, they have hired Rachel at minimum wages. They know that Rachel is happy to be employed because she is working under the social security of another person. One day, Rachel falls and breaks her leg. She asks if Mary and Tomas have insurance to help her with the medical bills. Mary and Tomas do not have such insurance and become afraid that they will now get into trouble with the State of Illinois and also with the Federal government. So, they fire Raquel. When Raquel tries to talk to them, they refuse to talk with her.
Questions: What, if any ethical principles, have Mary and Tomas violated? What about Raquel? What options would you consider following if you were Mary and Tomas?
Explanation / Answer
Mary and Tomas have violated the ethical principles an employer needs to follow while treating an injured worker. The state of Illinois requires the employers to provide worker’s compensation insurance for the employees hired which would cover the employee’s expense related to work injuries. But they did not have the insurance and tried to escape from their liabilities by firing Raquel. As an ethical employer they should arrange insurance programs that will cover the work related injuries of the employees. Moreover when the worker is injured the employer should provide the reasonable accommodation for the employee to continue work. Here they have violated the same by firing Raquel.
Raquel has violated the ethical principle by working under the social security of another person. It is unethical and illegal to work under someone else’s social security number as it will provide false information about the individual.
If I was in place of Mary and Tomas, I would try to arrange the insurance claims through the uninsured employer’s fund that will allow the injured employees to receive the medical payments if the employer was not insured at the time of accident. I would have also made the reasonable accommodation for Raquel to continue in the job.