Verified Document

Ethics Privacy Rights In The Term Paper

However, that was not an option, and it points to the rigidity of the corporation and its rules. Harrah's defense of their policy is utilitarian in its outlook and its purpose. It stresses utility (beauty) over values or concerns of personal beliefs and personal privacy. A Harrah's spokesman for the "Personal Best" program noted, "Harrah's customers, people who are loyal to the Harrah's brand name, expect a certain quality of product, a certain quality hotel room, quality of food, and, yes, a certain quality in the appearance of the people who are serving them food and beverages'" (Chmela). It seems this stance is both rigid and extremely discriminatory against female employees, where a different appearance level is required. The policy does not require male beverage employees to wear makeup or style their hair, and it does not allow any flexibility in the policy. Harrah's only purpose is to create a policy that "pleases" their customers by only hiring attractive beverage workers. It uses no ethics or morality in the decision, only the utilitarian principle that its own needs are more important than the needs of the staff. In fact, in "right to work" states such as Nevada, where Jespersen was employed and the original suit was filed, the workers have little right except the "right" to work, and employers can fire largely at will.

Several workplace and women's organizations have become involved in the case, and one representative stated their point clearly. She said, "It's a setback for women everywhere,' Wilchins said, 'Women, a long time ago, won the right to be judged based on the quality of their work, not whether they comply with an...

Since the original suit was filed in 2001, it has made its way through several local and district courts. In December 2004, the Ninth District Court of Appeals judged the firing was legal because the "Personal Best" policy also contained some stipulations for male employees (they had to have clean fingernails, short hair, and "clean" faces) (Chmela). However, in May 2005, they reversed their decision and agreed to revisit and review the case, which they did in June. They have not yet handed down a decision from that hearing (Kravets).
The Jespersen case is a clear physical privacy rights issue. When must an individual give up their rights and ethics they believe in just so they can be employed? While of course there are some considerations that take precedence, such as cleanliness, it seems that how a person looks should not be a consideration for the job they do. If only "beautiful" or attractive people can serve drinks, then a majority of "real" American people would be banned from working in a wide variety of jobs. A person's employment should be based on the quality of the job they do, rather than on issues that infringe on their physical and personal privacy rights.

References

Chmela, Holli. "Personal Best' Not up to Par." Washington Times. 11 Jan. 2005. http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20-8556r.htm

Guidos, Rhina. "Fired Bartender Sues Harrah's Over Makeup Policy." Reno Gazette-Journal. 7 July 2001.

Kravets, David. "Court to Decide Case on Makeup." Reno Gazette Journal. 22 June 2005. http://www.rgj.com/news/printstory.php?id=102344

Sources used in this document:
References

Chmela, Holli. "Personal Best' Not up to Par." Washington Times. 11 Jan. 2005. http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20-8556r.htm

Guidos, Rhina. "Fired Bartender Sues Harrah's Over Makeup Policy." Reno Gazette-Journal. 7 July 2001.

Kravets, David. "Court to Decide Case on Makeup." Reno Gazette Journal. 22 June 2005. http://www.rgj.com/news/printstory.php?id=102344
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Ethics, Privacy, and the Workplace
Words: 2519 Length: 8 Document Type: Essay

Technology / Privacy / Workplace There is a rapidly increasing use of technological monitoring in the workplace, and while technology in general has been highly beneficial to companies, the use of some technologies has raised privacy and ethical concerns among employees. This paper reviews the available literature when it comes to workplace monitoring of employees and the ethical implications of that monitoring. Is Privacy in the Workplace a Dying Notion? The right to

Public Health Vs. Privacy Rights:
Words: 580 Length: 2 Document Type: Case Study

3. In what form or forms does the conflict between outcomes and actions present itself in this scenario? On one hand, testing as many people as possible for AIDS, and specifically focusing testing programs upon high-risk groups seems like a good idea, given that it should result in the positive outcome of reducing the amount of unaware people engaged in high-risk sexual behavior who could infect other individuals. However, there is

Ethics the Nursing Profession, Perhaps
Words: 3034 Length: 9 Document Type: Term Paper

107) could also apply here. The confidentiality clause in such a case then only applies insofar as it is estimated that there is no need to disclose confidential information to others. In the case of Mrs. Z, her family deserves to know about her situation, because it affects their lives pertinently. Because of the increasing cultural diversity throughout the world, cultural values also play an important part in making ethical

Ethics the Dowd Model of Ethical Decision
Words: 2150 Length: 8 Document Type: Essay

Ethics The Dowd Model of Ethical Decision Making in Medical Imaging: Two Dilemma Scenarios Radiologic Alcoholic An ethical dilemma is raised in a situation where two "right" courses of action are found to be mutually exclusive of each other; that is, when doing one "right" thing necessarily leads to leaving the other "right" thing undone or even contravening this "right" and doing the opposite (Towsley-Cook & Young, 2007). A scenario in which an

Privacy Since the Advent of
Words: 1466 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

While the TSA claims that privacy rights are not violated by the use of full body scanners, many passengers disagree, as do many in the human rights community. A United Nations special rapporteur on the protection of human rights points out that recording details of private parts was an especially egregious human rights violation. In particular it was noted that women, people of certain religions and certain cultural backgrounds would

Privacy Abuse and Protection
Words: 3618 Length: 13 Document Type: Chapter

Privacy and Abuse Protection Efforts of Businesses Facts Many workforces in most nations all over the world are increasingly becoming global. These workforces cooperate, communicate, and link up in multinationals and global marketplaces via web-based applications across countries and territories. The phenomenon of globalization has removed quite a number of differences amongst peoples and nations both in workplaces and in other areas[footnoteRef:2]. However, some questions have been raised on the origins of

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now