Focus on Ethics

Focus on Ethics appears regularly in workspan Magazine to present real-life dilemmas faced by total rewards professionals.

Is it Time to Say Goodbye to the Focus on Ethics Column?
Dilemma:
I publish a column for a monthly magazine in which members of a total rewards association submit ethical dilemmas related to compensation, benefits, work-life, etc. But recently, I haven’t been receiving any submissions for dilemmas or responses.  I hate to kill this column because it’s always one of the highest rated columns in our magazine, per the biannual reader survey. But if I don’t start getting some responses, I’ll have to rewrite previously published dilemmas for the next few issues. Is that unethical? What should I do? 

Save Our Ethics!
After more than 10 years of insightful, delicious dilemmas, has the Focus on Ethics column run its course? Do you still look forward to the almost-famous back page of workspan every month? If you want to help save the Focus on Ethics Column, write to us at workspan@worldatwork.org and submit your dilemmas, responses and ideas!
Don’t wait! Only YOU can save Focus on Ethics.

Management Behavior
	Mismanagement of promotional budgets. [June 2011]
	The Do Nothing Boss [September 2010]
	Is the Boss Taking Over or Does He Just Like Analysis? [July 2010]
	Manager skips out on conference. [July 2009]
	Manager speaks negatively about an employee's performance one year after high rating, and an affair with the employee. [February 2009]
	VP, HR has contracted investigator look into extra-marital affairs of son-in-law who is an employee. [December 2007]
	Possibility of retaliation review after supervisor dated employee. [March 2007]
	CEO lied about job qualifications but reprimanded another for same action. [July 2003]
	CEO puts gag order on HR Director over embezzlement involvement by an executive.   [May 2003]
	CEO encourages employees to buy stock while he is selling his. [September 2005]
	Violating confidentiality when the President asks for information. [February 2006]
	Telling employees that incentive targets were not met to avoid paying out. [September 2003]
	Manager awards only direct reports at end of year rather than all levels of staff throughout year. [May 2004]
	On the brink of layoffs, hiding an employee in the payroll system by suggesting paid leave. [October 2004]
	Boss enjoys time off at a conference and asks subordinate to cover. [July 2006]
	Boss asks employee to cover for whereabouts at the end of the day. [February 2005]

Conflict with Policies or Practices
	Family Conflict of Interest. [May 2011]
	Conflicting Time-Off Requests. [December 2010]
	RFP process in question. [November 2010]
	Employee is asked to talk press call about a topic they don't believe their organization represents. [October 2010]
	Sexting on the Company Dime [August 2010]
	Inappropriate Salary Discussion Among Employees? [June 2010]
	Employee is moonlighting as financial advisor to company executives. [October 2009]
	Honesty Goes Up in Smoke [June 2009]
	Poor performer receives larger payout upon termination than high performers. [April 2003]
	Ineligible employee and ill wife have been receiving medical coverage by accident. [May 2003]
	Approval of reimbursement for ineligible education program in hopes of not paying severance. [April 2004]
	Analyst directed to shave off the top of executive assistant's merit increase. [April 2005]
	Plan payout changes in the eleventh hour, causing a sticky communications issue. [March 2006]
	Employee takes second of two sign-on bonus payouts and resigns. [May 2006]
	High performer slightly inflates travel costs for reimbursement. [September 2004]
	CEO designates mistress as beneficiary rather than spouse. [July 2004]

Salary Surveys/Market Pricing
	Is it fair to give premium pay for Influentials. [March 2011]
	Comp-ratio Targets. [February 2011]
	Providing survey results and previously unpublished raw data to nonparticipating company because HR director promised it. [March 2009]
	Salary disclosure among friends at competing companies. [August 2008]
	Adjusting what are agreed on as fair and equittable market rates for some positions to mitigate potential impact on other protected categories. [May 2008]
	Providing inaccurate or incomplete survey responses just to get free reports. [January 2004]
	Inflating salary survey responses. [January 2006]
	Sharing salaries with industry colleagues. [August 2004]
	Exchange of salary data allows competitor to offer more. [March 2005]
	Breeching confidentiality by revealing an individual survey participant's data. [October 2003]
	Analysis of new job for high performer reveals the job should be at a lower grade. [April 2006]
	Hiring manager made formal job offer, but pay was too high. [February 2003]

Vendor Selection
	Unfair advantage with RFP process. [August 2011]
	Buying Health and Wellness. [February 2010]
	Potential bidders receive knowledge of outsourcing budget . [March 2008]
	Hiring vendors with impending bankruptcy, knowing they won't get paid. [June 2003]
	Accepting gifts from potential vendors. [November 2003]
	Potential vendor learns of opportunity and offers free trip. [June 2004]
	Choosing financial advice vendor based on willingness to promote purchase of company stock. [November 2004]
	Employee only chooses family members' businesses as manufacturing partners. [December 2005]

Hiring
	Stretching the truth during salary negotiations. [July 2011]
	The Perfect Candidate and His Wife [January 2011]
	Should Companies Have a Do-Not-Hire List? [May 2010]
	Recognition for an Intern. [January 2010]
	The Writing Is on ‘The Wall’. [May 2009]
	Calling in a Favor. [April 2009]
	Candidate overlooked due to 'possible' case of Parkinson's. [January 2008]
	HR professional is solicited to help give personal acquaintance better chance at obtaining job. [July 2007]
	Counteroffering when key talent are prepared to take higher-paying jobs elsewhere. [April 2007]
	Eliminating the lesser of two candidates because he refused to provide salary history. [June 2005]
	Relying on personal knowledge (or hearsay) when hiring. [July 2005]
	Writing sample supplied during interview process reveals competitor secrets. [January 2005]
	Assuming candidate has recently been through chemotherapy, and questioning job fit. [November 2005]
	Limiting the number of years of experience required to meet job qualifications. [June 2006]
	Violation of company's hiring practice, not policy. [January 2003]

FLSA
	Owner insisting on policies and practices that are in violation of FLSA regulations. [December 2003]
	Changes to supposed final draft of job description after job was classified as non-exempt. [December 2002]
	Overtime payment errors - corrected for future, but last five years ignored. [August 2003]

General
	Employee using vacation donations - is it abuse? [September 2011]
	Handling politics in the workplace. [April 2011]
	Company payroll error. [April 2010]
	Training budgets - use it or lose it? [March 2010]
	What to do with a deceased employee's locker? [December 2009]
	The ‘Re-Engineering’ Dilemma. [November 2009]
	The Ethics of Layoffs. [September 2009]
	Managers’ bonus program is inappropriately structured. [August 2009]
	Social networking recommendations appear as endorsement by company. [January 2009]
	Options when asked or required to compromise objectivity or integrity under a professional code of standards. [December 2008]
	Expression of political beliefs at work. [November 2008]
	Employee brings speculation of who dented his car-door to HR. [October 2008]
	New HR employee's responsibility when receiving potentially offensive joke, while trying to establish new relationships. [September 2008]
	Conflict of interest when new product encroaches on the business of an advertisor. [July 2008]
	Employee requests vacation donations from co-workers for son's illness, but has a history of doing this. [June 2008]
	Employee providing what could be interpreted as legal advice using work email, although he's not an attorney. [April 2008]
	Manager lies when caught off-guard by questions about possible lay-offs. [February 2008]
	HR recommendation of pay increase funding in light of recent lower-level layoffs causing market position index to rise. [November 2007]
	Employee's work is re-purposed by another deparmtent without permission and did not give credit to author. [October 2007]
	Candidate requests disclosure of potential work team and supervisor before disclosing current salary. [September 2007]
	DIfference of opinions about whether open compensation system translates to more motivation. [August 2007]
	Question of professional obligation when opinion or data suggests top management may be headed down the wrong path. [June 2007]
	Providing a reference for a less than high performing former employee. [May 2007]
	Consulting firm employees holding stock in client company. [October 2006]
	Consultant now requesting to be present at all board meetings in case compensation is discussed. [September 2006]
	Unintentional error discovered with audit on the horizon. [February 2004]
	Employee moonlighting as bad financial advisor to company executives. [March 2004]
	On the brink of layoffs, hiding an employee in the payroll system by suggesting paid leave. [October 2004]
	High performer reveals responsibility for costly error from two years prior - and someone else had been blamed. [December 2004]
	Executive uses term   "Little Girl" to describe employee. [May 2005]
	Shredding of unknown documents after rumors of SEC inquiry. [August 2005]
	International employees receiving leaner health care coverage. [October 2005]
	Administrative assistants or secretaries handling personal errands or tasks for managers. [August 2006]