In elementary school, I remembered getting angry and pouting my way through a punishment that a teacher has put upon the whole class for the fault of one student. I remembered thinking as a child that, “I didn’t do anything wrong, so why should I get in trouble too?”
Sadly, this is not any different from what is happening in the corporate world where companies are held responsible for the misconduct of an individual.
On Sept. 9, the United States Department of Justice released a memo of new policies that will emphasize the prosecution of individual employees as opposed to penalizing whole companies.
It seems unfair to bring down the hammer on companies who may not have a clue about what employees are doing behind their desks. Although it would be difficult to determine whether or not the owners were in on the illegal activities without any physical proof, it would still be wise to have policies that ensure the protection of a company against individuals who can bring them down.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates said that, “it’s only fair that the people who are responsible for committing those crimes be held accountable.”
However, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton begs to differ and said that if she were to be elected as the new president of the United States, she would prosecute both the individuals and the company, according an article The New York Times.
While it would seem ideal that everyone in affiliation with a company equally gets the blame, it is not teaching anyone a thing about taking responsibility for their own actions. It basically lets the person who actually committed the crime to say, “If I go down, you all go down with me and there’s nothing you can do about it!”
Prior to the new policies, individuals who have violated the law have basically gotten away with white-collar crimes because the Justice Department failed to focus on who the real criminals are. Instead, they chose to punish the entire company for the mistake of one person, much like how my elementary school teacher would punish the entire class for the wrongdoing of one student.
Yates wrote in the memo that in order to save the company from paying billion dollar fines, they must cooperate with the government by identifying “employees and turn over evidence against them…regardless of their position, status, or seniority.”
Even then, a company should not just be able to get a get-out-of-jail-free card by simply handing over their cash and assume that the problem will go away. Pay the fines, find the perpetrator. It should be as easy as that. A company is still responsible for whatever scandal comes their way if an employee of the company is still working within its sector. No matter what a person’s position in the company, anyone who commits a criminal act should be held liable.
Companies often have their reputations tarnished or shut down because of their own employees who could not see the distinction between ethics and immorality. It should not have to be that way. The Justice Department is on the right track with implementing the new policies in order to catch the real perpetrators.
Even though the new and hopeful policies have been brought on to the spotlight, it is not a guarantee that every white-collar crime across the country would be brought to justice. It does not mean that those who are on top of the corporate ladder could be easily prosecuted as their subordinates. The policies are simply the next step to repair the unjust system we currently have.
