Business Regulatory Law - Essay Example

Running Head: Business regulatory Law Business Regulatory Law of the of the Business Regulatory Law Environmental regulation is very expensive area for the people in business and the government. The motive f the environmental regulation committee is to watch over the human population growth and what impacts it will have on human technology (Reed, Shedd, Morehead, & Corley, 2004, Chp 17, p 507-08). The Environmental and pollution-control laws oversee three levels f the regulation and they are follows: 1) Government's regulation f itself, 2) Governments regulation f business and 3) Suits by private individuals (Reed, et al., 2004, Chp 17, p 507). These regulations are governed by the federal government and they decide how rapidly the local toxic dumps will be cleaned up. The federal government can make arrangements for the protection f the population from the pollution that flows down from other states. The federal government expects the local governments to put into effect national environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act. However, the federal government has some concerns if the state and local governments are not managing the inspections in a timely manner. The federal government also has concerns that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not following through. The Florida Department f Environmental Protection is the agency that protects Florida's clean air act, water and land problems (Florida, 2006). Situation Background A resident f Erehwon, Ms. Kelly Bates has accused Alumina, Inc. f frequently contaminating the waters f Lake Dira with carcinogenic effluents, and has alleged that the consumption f the water is the prime cause f her 10 year old daughter's leukemia. Ms. Bates also alleges that her daughter's illness maybe as old as Alumina's first environmental law violation. The incident occurred five years ago. Alumina Inc. was reported to be in violation f an environmental discharge into Lake Dira. Alumina followed through and cleaned the spill up and the violation was corrected (UOP, 2007). People in a local newspaper, The Erehwon Reporter, seemed to want to keep the fire burning. Kelly Bates threatened to file a $5 million personal injury case against Alumina Inc. to recover compensatory and punitive damages. Ms. Bates alleged that Alumina's careless conduct is the immediate cause f her daughter's illness in though this occurred five years ago and the company has not had any further problems (UOP, 2007). The Scientific report on water pollution has rendered Ms. Bates claim unsubstantiated. Regulations and Legal Issues There are a few very important facts that include regulations and legal issues that are present within the Alumina simulation and they are as follows: Regulation f Business. There should be written roles and regulations that coincide with Federal and State laws. The regulations should be followed at all times with an Environmental supervisor in place to document all key findings. Alumina does not have any written regulations that match with the State and Federal governments at this time. The employees need these practices and references in place to ensure that they are following the laws that have been made. Environmental Policy The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was passed in 1970 along with the Environmental Quality Improvement Act, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These federal enactments were to put into place to ensure that the environment would be protected against both the public and private actions (Environmental lawyers, 1997). Alumina was reported to be in violation f an environmental discharge into Lake Dira. However, according to the EPA, Alumina quickly responded to the allegation and cleaned-up the Lake. The violation within the organization was promptly corrected and Alumni have not had another incident. Ethical Issues Ethical issues such moral values, beliefs and principles are considered as foundation f civilized society. People follow these values on a day to day basis. Are ethics are usually set into place when we are going up and enforced by society and their set f standards. Business ethics are generally put into place by organizations and followed by their employees. In today's society over 20 per cent f large organizations have an employee in place whose position is to develop a common set f standards to follow, this employee will also hear complaints and concerns and then complete follow-up and close the case or report back to the board f directors . The newspaper Erehwon Reporter published an article accusing Alumni f violating the EPA (Reed, et al., 2004, Chp 2, p 26-27). The newspaper admitted to not having any data that would support this editorial and thus had to retract what they had said. This is an ethical issue as far as this writer is concerned if a person does not have the appropriate information than they should not point a finger at Alumni (UOP, 2007) or any organization within a community. Freedom f Information Act Freedom f Information Act is the statute (at 5 U. S.C S 552) that provides access to federal records unless such records are protected from disclosure by any f the nine exemptions and three special law enforcement record exclusions in the act. Anyone can submit a FOIA request, including the citizens, corporations, state and local governments (oshrc.gov. 1999). The newspaper and Ms Bates approached the EPA to ask if they can have a copy f the environmental audit that documented Alumina's violation that occurred five years ago. This documentation could be released to Ms. Bates however; there should be current testing completed to ensure that Lake Dira still remains safe. The EPA has notified Alumina that there has been a request made for information to be disclosed. If Alumni should go through the documentation to ensure that they do not have any trade secrets embedded in the documentation and then them information should be released to Ms. Bates and the community. Stakeholders The stakeholders for Alumina, Inc have the right to know what the accusations are about and what is being done to correct the issues. The following are the stakeholders that have a stake in this business and what happens. Alumina has the right to defend the company and prove that they have cleaned the violation up that occurred five years ago. And that the company has followed the policies and procedures set fourth for their company when the first incident occurred. An Alumna also has the right to protect their financial freedom. They also have the right to prove that they have not broken any rules and regulations in a court f law. Alumina has the responsibility to the community if they have committed a violation that could possible cause harm to the public. The ethical issues that have been identified are as follows: the management staff f Alumni cannot come to any agreements are any issues that are happening. Kelly Bates is the next stakeholder in this simulation. She is a 38 year old mother and a local resident f Erehwon. Ms. Bates has a responsibility to her small daughter who has been diagnoses with Leukemia. Her responsibility is to keep her daughter safe from inside and outside contamination which could endanger her health. The small child f Kelly Bates is a 10 ten year patient who has been diagnoses with Leukemia. It is alleged that the child acquired this disease via drinking water that has been provided by Lake Dira. She will not be able to live a normal life as the disease progresses down the road. This child has the right to have some sort f nor mice. Erehwon Reporter is a stakeholder due to the responsibility that they have to the community. However, the newspaper should have the correct information before publishing any material. This is an ethical issue that should be addressed, without the appropriate information the newspaper is only printing acquisitions that have not been substantiate and this could cause great harm to Alumni, the community and themselves. The creditability f the organization and the newspaper stand to lose. The last stakeholder in this case is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): This organization has failed to complete follow-up on the state and local governments to ensure that continued testing f the waters has been completed. The EPA could become involved in a long and drawn out litigation process that could have been avoided. If this organization becomes involved or a lawsuit is filed this will costly, timely and devastating all f those involved. Nursing Home (St Petersburg, Fl) Mr. Alan Garfunkel, Legal Counsel for Shore Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation states, "that the type f allegation that has been is very difficult to prove." The example that he gave was that if a former patient files a suite stating that he/she has been diagnoses with due a sick building claim. According to the EPA if the building was cleaned up promptly, after 10 years, it would be the responsibility f the patient to prove that he actually contracted asthma from the sick building. Solution On the completion f the simulation and evaluating possible solutions including the risk assessment, the determination has been made that a press conference should be arranged to allow the community to have information regarding the company. After the initial conference a recommendation has been made to continually have small focus groups in place every three to six months which would allow further education and education to take place. The EPA will conduct testing on Lake Dira every five years for the 15 years to ensure that the lake remains clean. This should be an open forum. Conclusion Industries and some other businesses are a major source f water pollution in the United States. Industries discharge waste water, and other chemicals into the rivers and lakes. The principal federal law that regulates water pollution is the Clean Water Act; this acted was passed in Congress in the early 70's. The clean water act is administered by the each state in accordance with the EPA standards. If the states do not fulfill their responsibilities, the federal government through the EPA, can step in and investigate and then enforce the law (Reed, et al., 2004, Chp 17, p 519). The alleged complaint against Alumni stated that the violation that occurred 5 years ago was the cause f a small ten year girl developing Leukemia. However, that violation was cleaned up and no other incidence occurred after that time. By Alumni holding press conference and educating the community could avoid and/or mitigate any offensive activities. Reference Environmental Lawyers, (1999). EPA Filed Water Contaminated Lawsuit against the Town f Moreau. Retrieved on April 3, 2008 from http://www.environmentallawyers.com/ Reed, O. & Shedd, P. & Morehead, J. & Corley, R. (2004). The Legal & Regulatory Environment f Business, 13th Edition. [University f Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved on April 3, 2008, from University f Phoenix Esource, MBA/560-Enterprise Risk. From: https://mycampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.aspState f Florida, (2007). Department f Environmental Protection. Retrieved on April 3, 2008 from http://www.dep.state.fl.us/ University f Phoenix. (2007). Scenario/Simulation, Legal Environment f Business: Business Regulation, Alumni, Inc, Reading Materials from University f Phoenix e-resource, MBA/560-Enterprise Risk, Retrieved on April 3, 2008, from: Website: https://mycampus.pheonix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp United States Office f Special Counsel, (1999). Freedom f Information Act (FOIA). Retrieved on April 3, 2007 from http://www.osc.gov/foia.htm Read More