Case Analysis – an Ethical Dilemma
Running head: CASE ANALYSIS – AN ETHICAL DILEMMA 1 Case Analysis – An Ethical Dilemma Jerald D. Peet Saint Leo University AN ETHICAL DILEMMA 2 Salary Matrix Salaries are often developed and maintained using a salary grid or matrix which lists a range for each job title.
This ensures an organization offers a competitive salary based on skills and experience and stays within financial guidelines to continue to grow profitability. Education Many organizations offer higher salaries for the same job if an employee obtains preferred or higher education. This encourages employees to pursue or continue education related to their responsibilities. Experience Salaries are often higher if the employee possesses specialized skills or many years of experience related to the job function. Experienced employees tend to perform the functions of the job more efficiently than an employee with lesser skills.Performance Most employers give their employees salary increases based on performance, which can contribute to salary differences for the same job title.
Ethical Issues Once your company’s morals are established, they will be reflected in your actions. From a legal standpoint, this can affect your hiring practices and employee treatment. For more ambiguous terms, such as honesty or integrity, you put these into practice through transparency with your customers and adherence to the morals your business claims to follow. In short, while morals affect your stance on certain issues, ethics dictate how you deal with them.The Equal Pay Act The EPA prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the payment of wages or benefits, where men and women perform work of similar skill, effort, and responsibility for the same employer under similar working conditions.
The EPA governs the conduct of all employers–federal, state, and local governments as well as private employers. What Qualifies as Equal Work? The job in question does not have to be identical, but rather needs to be substantially the same. Job descriptions and titles are irrelevant, what counts is the actual work being done.Under the EPA, two jobs are considered equal when they require equal levels of 1) skill, 2) effort, and 3) responsibility, and are performed under similar working conditions at the same worksite (generally). While there is room for interpretation (and argument in litigation, obviously), this means that minor differences in skill, effort or responsibility will be disregarded and the jobs will generally still be considered the same.
If one employee has extra skills or duties deemed important, however, it is legal for the employer to pay that employee more than a counterpart.If, on the other hand, employers consistently favor one gender in doling out these extra duties (and therefore, extra compensation), courts will look at these situations unfavorably. How is Equal Pay Defined? The EPA only requires that employees be paid at the same rate. Total compensation may be different based on productivity or quality of work. In addition to equal wages, the EPA requires equal distribution of employment benefits such as health insurance, pensions, flex spending accounts, vacation time, bonuses, and any other fringe benefits.
