Position Paper #2 Breaches of Ethics

     When you think of breaches of ethics, what first pops in your mind? Some say a violation of one's rights or others say breaking a contract of ethical conduct. All are correct in a sense but it is much more complex. Let's analyze both a breach and ethics separately and conclude the words together to form a proper definition. The word breach means to infraction or violation of a law, obligation, tie, or standard a breach of trust sued them for breach of contract. Ethics means something totally different. Ethics is ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior"(Ethics Wiki). Simplifying these two words formulate a more in depth explanation. An ethical breach occurs when someone within a system or community makes an ethical choice that sets a standard by which others can make a similar decision (Breaches of Ethics Wiki). When it comes to breaches of ethics, there are many things and examples that constitute it. Examples of breaches of ethics could be discrimination, safety violations, poor working conditions, misleading advertising or marketing and releasing proprietary information are other examples. 

    Situations such as bribery, forgery and theft, while certainly ethically improper, cross over into criminal activity and are often dealt with outside the company (Ethic Violations Blog). Corporations, brands, governments, and individuals for decades have succumbed to breaches of ethics. These entities do these things for promotional, financial, and public gain. I discuss two cases of breaches of ethics. One pertaining to false claims and other copyright infringement. The University of Miami will pay $22 million to settle claims involving medically unnecessary laboratory tests and fraudulent billing practices. 

    The school violated the False Claims Act by ordering the unnecessary lab tests and submitting false claims through its laboratory and off campus hospital-based facilities, according to the Department of Justice. Some of the unnecessary tests were for patients who received kidney transplants. “Medical providers who submit fraudulent claims to our taxpayer-funded health care programs not only violate the public’s trust, they compromise the very integrity of these programs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida. “Our office will aggressively pursue investigations against all providers who knowingly violate these billing rules no matter their size.” “Health care providers who charge for medically unnecessary services and knowingly violate billing rules contribute to the soaring cost of health care,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will investigate and hold accountable those who seek to profit at the expense of federal health care programs and their beneficiaries.” “Bilking the Medicare program and patients by charging for medically unnecessary services will always draw the attention of my office,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Working with our law enforcement partners, our agents are committed to investigating alleged billing scams that result in tremendous costs to federal health care programs and its beneficiaries.” According to the DOJ, the civil settlement resolves allegations made in three lawsuits. Those suits were filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims, and to share in any recovery (https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/05/11/university-of-miami-to-pay-22-million-settlement-over-allegations-of-violating-false-claims-act/). Dealing with this breach of ethics case, University of Miami put the university and healthcare providers at risk and betrayed the public trust. As cases like this arise, it leaves the public harder to rely on healthcare prices and people in the medical field. This case is a prime example of breaches of ethics where the public's violation of ethics was broken. 

    The next case I will focus on is a copyright infringement. Clive Palmer has been ordered to pay Universal Music $1.5m in damages over the “unauthorized” use of a version of the hit 1980s song ``We're Not Gonna Take It'' by glam metal band Twisted Sister in a political ad. On Friday, federal court justice Anna Katzmann found Palmer’s political jingle Aussies Not Gonna Cop It, recorded as part of his multimillion-dollar advertising blitz during the 2019 federal election campaign, was a “substantial” reproduction of the Twisted Sister song. The Palmer version of the song changed the lyrics to: “Australia ain’t gonna cop it, no Australia’s not gonna cop it, Aussies not gonna cop it any more.” Palmer claimed he had written the words of the jingle while “in deep contemplation” in bed at 3am on a notepad he kept beside his bed, something he said “creative people” do. He told the court the note was then thrown “in the trash” by his staff. Katzmann said there was no doubt Palmer “intended to, and did, derive a political benefit from the unauthorized use of the copyright works”, and found the mining magnate had shown “flagrant disregard” for Universal’s ownership of the song (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/30/clive-palmer-ordered-to-pay-15m-in-damages-for-unauthorised-use-of-twisted-sister-song). As you can see from these recent cases, that breaches of ethics comes in all shapes and forms.