AboutPaul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D. Expertise I have been a practicing civil trial attorney since 1989 and have a master's degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy in comparative ethics of law, medicine and business.
I am Certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and am Certified as a Specialist in Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation by the State Bar of Arizona Board of Legal Specialization.
Experience Experience in the area I have been a practicing trial attorney since 1989 and I have a masters degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy regarding comparative ethics.
Organizations belong to State Bar of Arizona
State Bar of Colorado (inactive)
District of Columbia Bar (inactive)
Federal Bar
Licensed in Arizona District Court
Licensed in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Licensed in the United States Supreme Court American Bar Association National Board of Trial Advocacy
American Association for Justice
Arizona Trial Lawyers Association
American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Kennedy Institute of Ethics National Association of Realtors
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts 1985
Juris Doctorate 1989
Master of Arts in Bioethics 2004 Doctorate of Philosphy 2006
Awards and Honors Phi Beta Kappa
Multiple Who's Who
Publications A list of my copyrighted publications and presentations is contained at WWW.EXPERTETHICS.COM
Question I work part time at a national chain retail establishment in Florida. We collect many job applications monthly for potential employment even when we're not currently hiring. With the current job market, we have lots of applications on file, since we keep them for a couple of years. Recently, the store began excepting advance orders for a new product. The advance orders are not paid for until the release date, and only if the item is picked up by the customer, but we are required to collect personal information on the order, including name, e-mail address, phone number, and sometimes mailing address. The company is keeping track of how many advance orders each store in the district has. Our store has been in the bottom of the list because our clientele is not as interested in this item, and because it is pretty common knowledge that the store will receive a large supply and will most likely have enough for anyone who wants one. We're also not the only store in the immediate area taking advance orders, including other companies. To make up our shortfall, the manager ordered the employees to use the existing job applications to place "orders" for those applicants. They obviously don't have to buy or pay for the item, but they will most likely be contacted by the company closer to the release date reminding them about their "order." This seems not only unethical to me, but almost like identity fraud or theft. Is this practice illegal, and if so, what would you recommend I do about it? I've tried reporting a different ethical infraction to the corporate "loss prevention" office and the response was to slightly alter the unethical situation so it "appeared" less unethical, even though they actually changed nothing. This makes me think that these management decisions are supported by or even suggested by the company itself, or at least a higher level manager. I'm looking for a new job, since I don't feel right working here, and can bail out if necessary since this is a 2nd job, but if I'm just being a prude about this, I don't want to give up the extra money.
Answer James,
You are not just being a "prude" about this situation. Your manager is committing a fraud on the company and it sounds as if some of the corporate people are complicit. I would make sure you keep a copy of all complaints you made or make. Make sure all of your complaints are in writing.
You sound very smart about finding another job. This retailer sounds as if it has a corporate culture of deceit. No job is worth jeopardizing your own ethical standards.
