Case Study: Accept Things as They are?

Jeffrey Martinez

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

January 28, 2017

MGMT 201

Shirley Henkel

In this case, we see Jane, who is a very good employee, come to an ethical dilemma. She finds
out that a new employee, Bob Thomas, is making more money than her even though she is the
department manager and the company has told her that they could not afford to pay her a higher
salary. She later learns that Bob’s father is a politician and close friend to the president of S&J,
the company in which Jane works. After approaching the division head and telling him the issue,
he later informs her that there was nothing he could do to correct the wrong.

1. What options does Jane have?

Jane has a few options in this case. She could accept the company’s decision and keep working,
even though it is a clearly unfair and unethical decision. She could simply quit her position,
considering she had the financial means to do so. She could report the incident to the company’s
ethics officer, if there is one, and hope that there is no retaliation. She could also report this
incident to the federal government and state that she believes the company may be in breach of
the Equal Pay Act of 1963.

2. What influence, if any, would the federal government have in this case?

Jane is in a bit of a tricky situation here. The federal government should have good standing to
handle this case as it is clearly violation of the Equal Pay Act. The only issue that I can see is
Bob’s father is a politician, and she could be facing a situation where she is taking on S&J and a
political figure. This type of lawsuit could put a huge strain on Jane, financially and
emotionally.
 References

Rue, L. W., Ibrahim, N. A., & Byars, L. L. (2013). Management: Skills and application (14th
ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA). Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/epa.cfm