Describe the nature of crimes that organizations have committed against employees. Provide specific examples of such violations.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Organizational (corporate) crime against employees may take many forms; the most insidious relates to purposive violation of health and safety laws that may not only threaten workers’ lives, but may also genetically damage their offspring.
In 2007, it was reported that in 2001 nine workers in a microwave popcorn plant developed a rare lung disease due to exposure to an additive that added a buttery taste. OSHA dragged its feet in responding to or enforcing standards even as more workers became ill. The George W. Bush administration vowed to limit cumbersome regulations that it viewed as unnecessary costs on business and consumers (Labaton, 2007).
Just to cite one example of corporate negligence and cover-up, an examination of the asbestos industry is enlightening.
Terms such as black lung (due to coal exposure), brown lung (due to cotton mill exposure), and white lung (due to asbestos exposure) have become familiar to U.S. workers. The sheer number of new chemicals to which workers are exposed and their long-term impact are enormous. Occupational hazards are not new. In 1812 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, sweatshop conditions in the textile mills produced death in one third of the workers by the age of 25.