Pearson Taconite and Steel in my opinion had a moral obligation to protect Josie. When Josie
made the complaint to her supervisor that she had been sexually harassed by Bobby and he did not take
any action. The supervisor should have separated Josie from Bobby by putting her on a different shift to
avoid contact with Bobby to put an end to the abuse and harassment. This would be a remedy to avoid
liability on the company, while they investigate the matter.
An ethical breach also occurred when Pearson Taconite and Steel, had asked their female
workers to sign statements saying that Josie’s claims were false. This put the female workers in an
impossible situation. They could either lie or tell the truth in which case their working conditions would
have worsen. Pearson Taconite and Steel should have handled this matter fairly from the beginning to
avoid it from being taken this far. They should have established a safe place for the female workers to
express their discontent without fear of retaliation.
In this movie, Pearson Taconite and Steel had constructive discharge, caused by working
conditions being so intolerable that any reasonable person would quit. This was very evident as the
women were told from the beginning that they are not wanted and were only accepted due to the law
that was passed forcing companies to provide equal job opportunities to females. The company also has
the issue of sexual harassment due to the hostile work environment in which the men created for the
women. This was very evident with the incident with Sherry, where the male workers tipped over the
porta john while she was inside. Also seen when the male workers defiled the women’s locker room, as
well as when Bobby physically assaulted Josie in the powder room.