1
UNIT 1
APPLICATION AND ETHICS
“ARBITRATION, NO CLASS ACTIONS”
ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS
AT THE END OF THE FEATURE
ETHICS QUESTION
Is it unethical for a business to include an arbitration clause with a class-action ban in its
contracts with customers, employees, and other businesses? Discuss. No, it is not
unethical for a business to include an arbitration clause with a class-action ban in its contracts
with customers, employees, and other businesses.
Some commentators would argue that a business’s principal ethical obligation is to make
a profit for its owners. Others might propose that a business take a number of stakeholders’
perspectives into account when deciding on a course of action. Still others might assert that a
business has a responsibility to act chiefly in the best interest of society. And there may be
some who would impose a variety of other standards in an ethics framework—religious,
philosophical, or political.
2 UNIT ONE: THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS
CRITICAL THINKING
Many businesses include opt-out provisions in their arbitration clauses but few
consumers and employees take advantage of them. Why? Most likely, the reasons that
consumers and employees do not take advantage of opt-out provisions in a business’s
arbitration clause is that they are either unaware of the option or they do not appreciate what
