Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ethical

Was I let-go legally?

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:49:10 -0800

I was 'let go' from my job last week, but I'm not sure it was entirely legal. YANML, but please lend me your ear... (warning, long) I work at a medium sized non-profit. I started temping there last winter, and was made perm in April.

Things had been going alright; I can’t say that I loved the job or the people outside of my small regional office, or even the cause we were fighting for. But a job’s a job, especially right now. Decent pay and benefits.

There are two reasons I could have been let go. One was pretty much confirmed for me by my main boss – that a higher-up, in a different department, who has senior management’s ear, had decided that my manager and I needed to go. Now this person isn't in our department, much less works with our department. I’m still scratching my head over this one. He is a pretty nasty person, with a bad reputation, but I’ve never had to work with him. He comes into the office every once in awhile, but I’ve always been polite and professional with him.

The smaller reason is thus: a lot of the people I immediately work with, my counterparts in other regional offices are not the most ‘competent’ at their jobs. I’m trying to put this as nicely as possible – these people should not be given any professional responsibilities. My manager and I, we are constantly being the ‘odd men out’ of the department. Thrown ‘under the bus’ quite often, and chided for having proof that we didn’t “forget to send in requests” or “late reports”. But again, I’ve always been polite and professional with all of them, never a nasty email and lots of friendly overtones, for as much as I’ve questioned their employment, there is nothing I could have done that would stop the ‘blame game’.

So I was ‘let go’. Manger is has a ‘stay of execution’ to finish a large project but is soon to be gone. Keep in mind, I’ve never been written up, never given a warning – nothing. I knew the other department head didn’t like me, but didn’t believe I fell under his jurisdiction.

I was never given any paperwork, never signed a termination form, and wasn’t even provided with unemployment paperwork. In California, the UI Code, Section 1089 requires employers to provide the booklet. I emailed when I got home, asking for this, and was told:
”The state determines the unemployment and you can access online to file. Put 'termination' and on my end I will report that you 'worked to best of abilities' but not a good fit. That should qualify you. “

Ok so fine, I file unemployment. All the while wondering what is really going on. Next day, get an email from my main boss:
”COMPANY is willing to put a letter of voluntary resignation from you in your personnel file at HQ. For unemployment purposes, we will list “termination – worked to best of abilities, but not a good fit with position” but on your file we will list it as a voluntary resignation, that way if anyone calls HQ for a recommendation, they will be able to read directly from your file that you resigned and are eligible as a rehire.”

Obviously this seems a little strange to me – flimsy reasons for being fired, but hey, I’m in CA and we’re an ‘at will’ state. But asking me to pretend that I quit – am I putting my hand in the bear trap disguised as a cookie jar?

The question: is this legit? Is it worth fighting? Should I report the employer for not providing the unemployment booklet? Do I pretend that I quit? I already have a handful of people who will give me recommendations, so if I burn a bridge here, it wouldn't really harm me.

Thanks in advance. Questions can be mailed to anonisanona at gmail dot com

Blank walls, empty frames

embrangled — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:31:25 -0800

Where, online, can I find photographs and scans of classical Asian and Middle Eastern art? Specifically, where can I find images that I could ethically and practically print and hang in small frames above my desk? I'm no expert and I realise this is a big field, but I really love Islamic and Asian art. Mughal miniatures, Chinese brush paintings, Japanese woodblock prints - they remind me of my globe-trotting grandmother's house.

There's no room in my budget for actually buying art right now, but I do have a printer and some good paper. Can you recommend a source for out-of-copyright art that I can print?

I really don't want to infringe copyright or commit glaring cultural gaffes, so please don't jump on me for wanting to do this. I'd prefer sources where the art is presented in context so I can learn about its history as I search.

Effective Investing for the Dithering Ethicist

Popular Ethics — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:13:42 -0800

Economists vs. philosophers: Is investing in the stock market (specifically mutual funds) a net good or evil? And the bonus question: Where should a socially conscious man of means put his money so that he can retire comfortably without contributing to a growing wealth inequality? Please excuse the GYOB-ness of this post. I haven't studied a lot of economic or social theory, so my current conclusions are formed from a mishmash of internet editorials and unresearched speculation. This is why I would like the esteemed AskMeites to critique my current thoughts on the matter, which are:

1) People buy stocks because they think they'll be able to find other people later who will pay more for them. Absent dividends, this means that continued profit can only come from exponential growth in expectations for a company.

2) This drive for exponential growth in "perceived profitability", coupled with a legally binding obligation to shareholders, forces corporations to eventually ignore all other motivations. This leads to things like massive layoffs, lobbying against regulation, tax evasion etc.

3) The actions of corporations to grow their shareholder value serve to concentrate the wealth of the company in fewer and fewer people's hands. This is driving the current growth in income inequality in most of the world. Why should having money entitle you to more money than those with less?

4) After reading "Why I Fired my Broker", I realized that most investors abdicate their financial power, entrusting it instead to fund managers who don't share the same interests. Given that most funds do no better than the market index, the personal finance industry smells like a giant scam to me.

5) And besides all that, it's an unstable system. You can't keep hoping to profit on exponentially increasing optimism. Most traders don't know the first thing about the companies they're investing in except for the meagre (and manipulated) earnings stats they publish. Instead everyone just follows everyone else - one giant positive-feedback system. It doesn't even do the job (efficiently allocating capital) it's supposed to!

OK, those are the reasons I stayed out of the stock market for most of my life, choosing instead to pay off my student loan and buy treasury bonds and GICs. However last year I sat down to plan my retirement and realized I couldn't make my goal without at least an average 6% annualized rate of return. So I switched sides and convinced myself that the stock market:

- serves an important role in moving capital to enable new technologies

- is an efficient way to price goods

- has some other justifications that I can't remember anymore :)

and I bought a bunch of mutual funds*. Heh, good timing. Now I'm back to square one. I still need to save up a reasonable amount of money for retirement (in 30 odd years), but I'm even less confident now that my mutual funds are the best (in terms of both rate of return, and public good) place to put that money. Am I wrong that the stock market is so bad? Are there any better options?

*They're called "Ethical" funds, but when you go through their holdings you'll find they own the same stock as everyone else. Also their "advocacy" efforts are more than a little underwhelming

Help me find a reputable toy/miniature poodle breeder.

orangeshoe — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:38:56 -0800

Recommendations for a reputable toy/miniature poodle breeder, especially those located in the Northeast Corridor? I have decided to adopt a toy/miniature poodle and have been tirelessly researching breeders for several months now. Of course, I have found many poodles for sale, but am too keenly aware of the atrocities of the puppy mill and backyard breeder and will not have any part in supporting such operations. Can anyone suggest a reputable, responsible toy/miniature poodle breeder who truly understands the breed and is knowledgeable about the breed's unique characteristics and health issues? Please bear in mind that I have no desire to show. My chief concern is to find a healthy poodle of sound temperament to become a lifelong family companion.

As an aside, I would certainly be open to adopting a pure toy/miniature poodle (pure breed is a must as allergies are an issue in my household), however, I have received little to no responses to my various emails to rescue organizations. Thus please keep your referrals limited to poodle breeders unless you have a specific connection to a rescue organization.

Ethical gift giving?

sugarfish — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:07:55 -0800

What are some good places to buy ethical gifts? As much as I'd like to have a no-gift or charity only holiday this year, for much of my gift-giving list that isn't really an option. (I'm working on it.) I'd like to, then, buy gifts from places that I know will benefit the workers who make it beyond a paycheck.

I received a catalog from Serrv this year, and I've found some very promising stuff in there. I saw a link to Thistle Farms on the blue yesterday. I will also be buying stuff from the crafters at etsy. Where else can I look?

How do I ethically/morally justify getting paid the higher rate?

Anonymous — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:55:01 -0800

I'm having a bit of an ethical dilemma about a work/pay situation. An acquaintance and I were hired as consultants by The Company for a 7 day project which required a 2 person team doing 2 different tasks. Task A was less technical than Task B and thus received a lower pay rate than B (with a lower overtime rate also). I normally get hired to do Task B outside the context of The Company so naturally when I got hired I assumed that I was getting hired for Task B (with the higher rate of pay). And since Task B is not my acquaintance's area of expertise I figured that it was a no-brainer regarding which one of us was getting hired for which Task.

The confusion came about when my coworker thought that since The Company didn't specify which one of us was to do Task A vs B, that we should split the pay 50/50. The Company (unprofessionally in my opinion) says that they are willing to split the pay any way we agree on. And unfortunately of course, there is nothing in writing. Well there is, but the only thing missing on the contract is specifying who was getting hired for which Task.

The 7 day project is over now and he has since realized that I did in fact do Task B and (even though he tried) he did not possess the technical skills necessary to complete Task B.

I think so far it's pretty clear that I should receive the pay rate associated with Task B and he says he's ok with that and I wouldn't be hurting his feelings by doing so. My dilemma comes because of 2 reasons:

1) For 3 out of the 7 days we both did the same thing. Working as a team doing things that either one of us could easily do and not necessarily in a supervisor/subordinate position. The other 4 days were spent with me specializing in technical stuff on Task B.

and 2) the difference in the pay after all the days and over-time amounts to me getting about 150% more than him. (Re-looking over the rates just now I see that the 150% would happen with or without the over-time, the only difference being that with more hours the dollar amount is what increases).

So really the question is, am I under any moral or ethical requirement to give him a part of the pay I would get for Task B for the 3 days that we did the same duties, while keeping the higher rate for the 4 days during which I did the specialized duties? And what do I say? How do I phrase it?

If we split it that way the dollar amount is a difference of only $187.0 less for me and more for him. I'd make either $1013.0 or $1200.0 more than him otherwise if we split 50/50 I would make about $700.0 less and he $700 more than not splitting.

And lastly, as I said, we are acquaintances but I wouldn't say friends so as far as burning bridges and friendships and whatnot, it's really not a concern. I just want to make sure the end result is a fair one to both of us even if we don't like it.

askmfdilemma@gmail.com if needed.
Thanks in advance.

What are good sources for ethically sourced, plus-sized women's career clothing?

lapillus — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:28:36 -0800

What are good sources for ethically sourced, plus-sized women's career clothing? I'm having trouble finding plus-sized clothing suitable for offices that are made without sweat shop labor and of sustainable materials (e.g. organic cotton, bamboo, recycled fibers, hemp, organic wool, etc.). Most of what I'm seeing for sale is either too small and/or too hip/too hippie for many offices. Anybody have any favorite stores to share? Preferably ones online, with stores in Minnesota or with catalogs available, but feel free to list others.

Suggestions for snappy "ethical" office attire

ajp — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:10:28 -0800

Where can I find "ethical" work clothes, suitable for an office job in London, UK? My Howies jeans and t-shirt, and my No Sweat trainers are great for the weekend, but what can I wear during the week? My workplace enforces the typical "smart" look: suit with or without tie; long-sleeved buttoned shirt; yadda yadda. I've got the shoes sorted: Vegetarian Shoes are perfect. But what about the rest? I don't need a full suit (although that would be good), I really need trousers, shirts, a good summer raincoat, and a nice smart jumper or two.

Everyone's definition of "ethical" varies, so I guess I'm looking for any combination of:

# vegetarian
# organic
# Fairtrade

...but feel free to throw anything similar into the mix.

Everything I've found on the web has been either casual-wear, or disappointingly bland. So perhaps I should add "snappy" to the list of criteria above.

If there really isn't a specialist provider of this sort of clothing, can anyone recommend a high-street outfitter in the UK (preferably with a branch in London) that has a half-decent ethical policy? Most of them are transparent gloss-over efforts.

(To pre-empt a little: I'm not really looking for a debate about the whys-and-wherefores of my purchasing decisions :-) just sound options.)

Thanks in advance!

What are your "good," "ethical," or "moral" criteria for spending your money? Organic? Fair Trade? Made in America?

k7lim — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 08:19:06 -0800

What are your "good," "ethical," or "moral" criteria for spending your money? Organic? Fair Trade? Made in America? No Animals Harmed in the Making Of This ____? For the dollars you spend on goods and services, what values do you consider other than the value to yourself? Explain why. There are so many considerations in this regard, and I'd like to have a firmer grounding in mine and perhaps debunk some common myths in this regard.

For example, I've heard that NO soaps undergo animal testing, as soap has been proven to work as a technology, so why would any corporation waste money putting ole shampoo on a terrier?

Shopping for good karma

sarahkeebs — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 07:09:42 -0800

Can anyone suggest websites/producers/organizations that will allow me to make buy things (food, gift, etc) in an ethical way? I know about fair trade, but it's not always specific enough...and it's 90% coffee. For example, I don't think it's right to boycott all Israeli products because of my disagreement with what's going on in the Territories, but I'd like to restrict any future buying to producers who aren't contributing to the conflict, and would love to support any organizations or producers working for peace or cooperation, if any such exist.

Israel's just an example, though, so suggestions for ethical shopping in general are appreciated.

Help me find an ethical bank in the US please!

merocet — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:24:57 -0800

In the UK I banked with the Co-op Bank because of its ethical policies. Now I live in New York and I want to open a US checking account with a bank with a similar ethical outlook, so my money (such as it is!) doesn't get used to finance bad stuff. Googling doesn't show up anything similar apart from the Common Good Bank which isn't actually open yet. So who should I use ethical Mefites?

Help me turn green with goodness!

teststrip — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 21:37:19 -0800

How can I live a more green/ethical/eco-friendly/sustainable life? - I live in an apartment - which has minimal natural light. 1 brm with a full sized kitchen (dishwasher), laundry with a washer and a drier
- I have replaced my cleaners with local eco products
- Trying to sign up for a organic box scheme - but as a single person they might be too large for me?
- No car - I walk to work
- And finally, I'm not made of money so if any of this saves $$$ I'll be even more happy.

I would also appreciate links to books/blogs on people trying to do this in an urban/city environment. Reading about organic farms and people living off the grid is very inspiring but I can't seem to copy their ideas.

Is there anything else I can do? Al Gore's made me guilty!

Ooh, shiny! And strangely maple-scented!

randomination — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 06:50:55 -0800

How do I buy an engagement ring with a Canadian diamond in the UK? We are in London, and my girlfriend is from the true north strong and free. (Oh, OK then. Toronto.) Can anybody recommend an online or reality-based jewellers' that could source a Canadian diamond for us and create an engagement ring?

Or would it be a better idea to buy it in T.O. and take it home?

{
include('explanation of why we want a Canadian diamond');
include('explanation of why we want a diamond at all');
}

Thanks!

Roommate predicament, should I pay or not?

thefinned1 — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 15:40:08 -0800

Roommate predicament, should I pay or not? Short summary: The former roommate in the house I was planning to move in to tried her best to be discreet about telling me that I might not be getting into a good rental situation when I asked her. I pulled out but left the live-in landlord with half my deposit as not to screw her over. Now the landlord has contacted the old roommate telling her she is liable for rent because things with me fell through. The old roommate was only trying to protect me – and now she is about to get hurt because of it. HELP! I need advice.

(Very) Long version: I arrived at my new apartment, ready to move in with my car half full of stuff ready to unload. My new landlady who I would be living with was at work, and the roommate who was moving out was home finishing up the bathroom cleaning. After checking out the empty room, I was headed downstairs to start with the first load of stuff, and I asked the roommate who was leaving if there was anything I should know about the landlady or the living situation before I took the plunge.

Her response left me baffled – she refused to go into any details until she got her full deposit back, but the look in her eyes and the fact that she felt worried that she wouldn’t get her deposit back from this lady didn’t fare well for what kind of situation I was about to get myself into. I tried to get more information out of her so I could make the right decision, but she wouldn’t budge one bit. She seemed very very nice, and sympathetic, and the more I tried to get info out of her, the more I understood that this was NOT a living situation I should be entering into. She even mentioned wishing that she had the phone number of the other roommate who recently moved out, insinuating that that person had a bad story to tell as well.

So...the former roommate and I exchanged phone numbers and agreed to talk later, so I could tell her what I was planning to do, and so that she could eventually tell me, once she got her deposit back, what was so wrong with the landlady/living situation, regardless of my decision. The landlady never knew that she and I came into contact, and we agreed to keep it that way.

After giving it much thought that afternoon, I decided that the best way for us all to get out of it – for me to not have to move in with a crazy lady, and for the former roommate to not be affected by my decision – was to make up a story that got me out of it. So, I did – I made up a life altering event, the end result of which meaning that I couldn’t move in. The landlady was sympathetic to my situation, I told her to keep the deposit money I gave her to cover the half month of rent that it could, and the former roommate wasn’t involved and should therefore get her money back – everybody wins, right?

So I thought until I received a call from the former roommate – the landlady called and told her that because things with the new roommate (me) fell through, she was still responsible for paying rent until she found someone who could take the room. Obviously this is unfair and ridiculous – the deposit money that I left should be what covers the rent until a new person comes in – but as far as the landlady knows, the former tenant and I never touched base, so she doesn’t know that we each know what she’s trying to do. The problem now being, this former tenant can’t get her deposit back from the landlady, and it’s at least partially, if not fully, my fault.

So – what should I do? Should I offer to pay the former tenant a portion or all of the deposit that she won’t be able to get back? That would be money I’m paying, literally, for NOTHING! Should I tell the tenant that I’m sorry she is in this situation, but I can’t help, and risk having her tell the landlady about our interaction, and therefore I would be held responsible for my end of the rental agreement?

I really want to do what is right for everyone, including myself…but what is right? What would you do in my situation?

I'm in California, if that helps/matters.

Which are the best search engines that aren't Google or Yahoo?

reynir — Sun, 29 Jan 2006 03:55:48 -0800

Which are the best search engines that aren't Google or Yahoo? I want to find one that is good for searching but which also isn't in the business of turning this into this. Dear Ask Mefi. I'd like to avoid using Google where possible. Yes, I know this won't make any difference to anything but it will make me feel better. I'd appreciate recommendations for other search engines that deliver good results and aren't run by companies that are snuggled up all cosy in bed with murderers, conspiring to help them better hide their crimes. So that's Yahoo! out, for starters. Looking around over the last day or so, Gigablast and Clusty seem to be getting a few recommendations. Anyone here used them much? Any other recommendations?

Law School Admissions

SeizeTheDay — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 21:09:09 -0800

I have a question regarding attending a university but not including it in my law school application. My situation is a bit tricky right now; I left one school after a major life trauma for a change of pace. It turned out that I wasn't ready for school at the time and did very, very poorly. Now, after a few years, I'm going back to my original school and finishing my degree. My upcoming graduation will not require any of the credit earned from my second school. But I noticed that all the law school admissions applications mention that you have to forward all transcripts. How much trouble can I get into for not sending in those transcipts? What is the likelihood that I will be "caught"? BTW, my current GPA at the original school is "okay", but my saving grace is the LSAT, recommendations, and personal statement. What should I do, and why?

School fundraisers

whatnot — Thu, 08 Jan 2004 11:09:26 -0800

Our elementary school's PTA is looking for an ethical and/or fair trade fundraiser. I have only found one decent resource. Anyone else had experience with this? [more inside ...] We only like to do one schoolwide fundraiser per year, in the fall. There are only 240 kids in the school, and we can count on 80-100 of them to participate. In the past, we have had plenty of success, raising $8-12K per year, but the companies we were working with were not always desirable for the following reasons:

Sally Foster: A small catalog of quality products (the wrapping paper is especially good), but they couldn't verify the origin of their cocoa and the turnaround is very slow.

Kathryn Beich: A huge catalog with a wide variety of price points, but they are owned by Nestle. *cue Darth Vader theme*

The Nestle thing was the last straw, and now we are looking for an ethical annual fundraiser that can bring in $10K or more. Any ideas? What successful fundraisers have you been a part of?