Touro University International

ETH501

Murdered by the Boss

Module 5 Case Assignment

Dr. Mary Evans

For years, companies have been exempt from criminal liability when one of their employees died at work. In the early eighties, the Regan administration removed corporate restrictions which led the way to legal battles in the courts over the safety of workers in these businesses. With the lifting of restrictions on corporations, the exemption from criminal liability seems to have been lifted. There have been many cases where employers have been charged with manslaughter and few where they were even charged with murder. One case in particular was the case of the Polish immigrant working for the Film Recovery Systems plant near Chicago. This worker was removing silver from old film and he collapsed and later died from inhaling cyanide and other dangerous chemical. The employer was hence charged with murder for the negligence showed by having their employers do this work. They not only had their employees do this horrible work but they hid the details of what they were doing. They even went as far as to scrape the skull and cross bones off the cylinders of the cyanide gas1. Five executives were charged with murder for this but later only three were convicted of manslaughter. This company was horribly negligent in this case and they got off easy with manslaughter. There are many instances where an employer should be held liable for murder in the death of an employee. The big question is who to charge. Do you charge the manager, the company, or both? Who is ultimately responsible for the death of an employee on the job? In order to answer this and other question, we must figure out who is responsible. Is it

the employer or the employee? Then we have to decide who gets charged and what the charge will be if its not murder. When we talk about an employee dieing at work we are getting into a very serious situation. We have to consider the whole situation. This is especially true when trying to figure out what went wrong and why this happened. Before anyone is charged with anything, we have to consider who is responsible and even more important liable. First and foremost, who is responsible has to be established. If the employee gets into a job where he knows without a doubt there is the possibility of death involved, then you have to look at the situation differently. The employer cant be charged with murder if the employee knew what he was doing was dangerous and could result in death. This is true for a lot of occupations. Dangerous occupations such as the military, police, fire fighters, and similar areas make for better chances of being hurt and even killed. The employees take these jobs knowing the risks involved. They feel that the compensation offered is enough to justify the type of work they are getting into. In this case, the employer is only responsible if there were extenuating circumstances that led to the employees death. These extenuating circumstances would have to be severe in order to get a murder conviction on an employer in these occupations. Other occupations where there isnt an understanding that death is a possibility and may be required in the performance of their duties, the employer has an increased responsibility in the safety of their workers.

In the majority of jobs, one doesnt expect there is a high risk of death when the go to work. When an accountant shows up to work, they dont think there is going to be a time when their life will be in danger. This is almost universally accepted. The problem is the employers out there are weighing the risk versus rewards and they are gambling with your lives when they decide it costs too much to implement new safety procedures. Employers that decide not to give you information that could be detrimental to your health or they put you in undue harms way are criminally liable for anything that happens. The employers know they are responsible too. Sometimes its more cost effective to pass on the new safety equipment or procedure because the amount of lives lost without it would be cheaper to the company. How can this not be murder? One way this cant be murder is there is no premeditation. They dont go out and plan to kill there employees. Or do they? There is the chance that the companys safety conditions were so bad that they knew it would cause someones death and it was only a matter of time. This was true in the case of the polish worker who died from removing the silver from the old film. The company is definitely liable if they knew of the risk and didnt do anything about it. Its only a matter of what the charge should be and who should get charged. In the untimely death of an employee at work, it depends on who is responsible when we decide who gets charged. We know that employees take certain risks when they go to work depending on their occupation. Some jobs require more risk than others. We also have put the responsibility for employee

safety on the shoulder of the company. When an employee dies at work under suspicious circumstances the first place we look is at the safety controls that are in place. Many times the employer has all the acceptable safety controls in place and bad things still happen. In this case, nobody should be charged with anything. They should learn from what happened and hopefully avoid a similar occurrence in the future. There is always the one out there that doesnt have the safety systems in place or asks an employee to do something they know to be dangerous. Sometimes dangerous things have to be done but its up to the employer to advise the employee of the risks involved prior to having them do anything that could result in death. When an employee dies in these cases its hard to decide who to charge and what to charge. Murder is a pretty extreme case and there has to be intent-to-kill2. It takes a lot to get a murder charge to stick especially on a company. The company has to be proven to be so negligent that it was obvious what they were doing and risking. Not only should the company be charged but the person managing the personnel when this happens. If a company is telling its managers to do something they know is wrong and the managers know its wrong, then they are just as guilty as the company. They may not get the full charge of murder in some cases but manslaughter would definitely be forthcoming. One example would be the company that ignores the latest safety equipment that would ensure the safety of their employees while working with a volatile substance and tell the managers to have the employees accomplish the work anyway. The manager is aware of the

safety devices available and the possibility of injury or death to the employee without it. This makes them liable as well. Since the company knew of the safety equipment and the consequences, they could be charged with manslaughter if they dont let their employees know of the risks involved. There are many instances where an employer should be held liable for murder in the death of an employee. The big question is who to charge. Do you charge the manager, the company, or both? Who is ultimately responsible for the death of an employee on the job? In order to answer this and other question, we must figure out who is responsible. Is it the employer or the employee? Then we have to decide who gets charged and what the charge will be if its not murder. As you can see, it gets harder to charge an employer with murder when the employee is aware of the risks involved. The employee that accepts the risk for the compensation involved gives up some of their rights but they still can expect the companies to do all they can to protect them. Employers are responsible when they know what they are doing is wrong and continue to operate the same way. If the company is negligent, not only can we charge the company with manslaughter but the managers as well and anyone else that is involved. Manslaughter is the unlawful taking of someones life3. Everyone should be safe in their work environment. If the company is extremely negligent they are guilty of manslaughter, and the president should be prepared to go to prison for killing his employee. It may not be a charge of murder but manslaughter with hefty fines may convince the company to change its ways.

REFERENCES:
1. When does a workers death become murder? David Rosner, American Journal of Public Health. Apr 2000. Vol. 90, Iss. 4; Pg. 535-540 2. www.crimblawg.com/felony_murder/ 3. www.dictionary.law.com search manslaughter