Respond to both paragraphs using references 

Paragraph 1

     Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was sued for paying women less than men for similar positions. The salary for the female employee was lower than that of male counter parts. This type of environment shows more of a capitalism economic system within the United States. Capitalism is an economic system that is more about the gain of the company and the benefits for the people in charge. “To clarify, the first point maintains that the engine that drives all business activity is thedesire for personal gain.” (Fieser, 2015) Though there are many laws that prevent this type of things companies such as Goodyear Tires have found ways around it. There are laws about discrimination based on gender and that it is illegal to pay a woman less simply because she is a woman. Many companies try to get around this by issuing what amounts to a gag order on employees discussing their pays with each other, this is because is one does not know they are being paid less for the same position then they cannot file lawsuits. There was also a law pertaining that people had 180 days to file suit of alleged discrimination which meant if companies could keep the information of pay differences quiet for that long no one could do anything about the pay differences, though this was amended to mean the 180 days got to restart on each pay day. “The act establishes that each discriminatory paycheck issued resets the 180-day limit to file a claim.” (Fieser, 2015)

Ethical Theory-

            When deciding if paying one person less then another simply based on gender one should look at utilitarianism to understand if this is the right choice. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that means that right action is the action the benefits the majority of people. “While businesses assesscosts and benefits in terms of financial gains and losses, utilitarianism focuses instead on how ouractions affect human happiness.” (Fieser, 2015) This ethical theory also encompasses that one should look at how choices affect others.

My Moral Position-

            Women should be paid the same as men for equal work. By utilizing the ethical theory of utilitarianism one can see in many points how paying women the same as men for the same work done is the right option. Utilitarianism is about benefiting the most people and by paying women equal pay for equal work many people would benefit from this. The families of single mothers would benefit because the mother would have a better ability to support their home. Also dual parent homes would be benefited because husbands wouldn’t have to shoulder majority of the responsibility. By having equal pay for equal work the majority of society would be benefited.

Reference-

Fieser, J. (2015). Introduction to business ethics [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/  

The issue that I have decided to address is the gender pay discrimination. More specifically the case of Lilly Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. This case was one of the most controversial decisions in years. In the article Title VII’s protection against pay discrimination: The impact of Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, that this controversial decision severely  undercuts the ability of pay discriminate on victims to enforce their rights under Title VII, the main federal anti-employment discrimination statute. Further, in its decision, the Court applied the statute of limitations in a way that ignored the realities of both pay discrimination claims and workforce bias (Brake & Grossman (2007). In the case of Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire, Goodyear was portraying traits of employment discrimination; which is defined as: a type of discrimination that refers to prejudicial treatment of people in hiring, promotion, and termination decisions (Fieser, 2015, p.5.1). Goodyear displayed discrimination by paying Lilly Ledbetter less money than her male colleges known as unequal compensation. The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion (2017)

Lilly Ledbetter was a female supervisor at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Alabama. Over her course of employment with the company she underwent sexual harassment from er male colleagues. She received an anonymous note one night that showed the salaries of three other males which were higher than Lilly’s.  Lilly was awarded $360,000 in damages; however, Goodyear argued that Ledbetter’s claim had been time-barred and the Supreme Court ultimately decided Goodyear was right. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states that the charge must be brought be brought within 180 days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred (2007). The morale questions that presents itself now is when exactly does the 180-day time clock start to run and in the case of discrimination, should there be an expiration date, especially if you are still working there after the case. Deontology presents itself in this case because deontology takes the moral actin based off of ethics rules. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company stated that Lilly was not within the 180 day rang and the Supreme Court were morally obligated to favor with Goodyear Tire.

References: 

Fieser, J. (2015). [Electronic version]. Retrieved from

Brake, D. L., & Grossman, J. L. (2007). Title VII’s protection against pay discrimination: The impact of Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Regional Labor Review, 10(1), 28-36. Retrieved from

Unknown (2017) Know Your Rights: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964