Answer on Ethics Questions

Student Name:
Topic:
Tutor:
Date:
In the United States, substance abuse is among the top concerns today. Studies have indicated that 73% of all drug users are employed, and this costs businesses billions in terms of loss in productivity and staffing costs. Due to the increasing incidences of substance abuse, chances that your organization is employing one of these drug abusers are greater than any time in history (White 133). Working in an environment that is drug-free is among the employee’s rights including working with individuals who are free from any effects and influences of drug or alcohol abuse. According to the 1988 Act on a workplace that is drug-free, a drug-free workplace is described as a site for work performance where employees are prohibited from manufacturing, distributing, dispensing, or using controlled substances that are unlawful (Dempsey 256). Therefore, the violation is dependent on the company policy. If the company relies on the Federal Act (1988), the violation is worse when it is a controlled substance. However, in case of a company policy where both controlled and uncontrolled substances are prohibited, the violations are viewed as the same whether the drug used is cocaine or alcohol.
The Federal Act and company policies that relate to drugs are often accompanied with issues relating to employee privacy. However, privacy is often dependent on the context because from a legal perspective, employees have the rights by law to privacy at work. The laws highlight that employees should enjoy three areas of privacy that even the employer is required to respect. These are utilization of the telephone and email, surveillance, and the protection of personal data (Gilliland, Douglas and Skarlicki 349). Therefore, legally, Brock and his should have the right to privacy. However, in a case where the employer feels that the employee is violating this right, the employer can interfere with the privacy of the employee as in the case of Brock. Therefore, while this right is legally provided any abuse to the right allows the management to violate the privacy requirements.
While privacy matters are often viewed as one-sided where employees can interfere with the employers’ privacy and the vice versa is not possible, when it comes to company policies universality is important. When company policies, rules, and regu...