Ethical Dilemmas

John Crane and Andy Pullman have worked together in one of the engineering divisions of Branch, Inc. for several years. Frequently John has detected alcohol on Andy's breath when they were beginning work in the morning and after work breaks during the day. But, until a new policy that imposes sanction on those employees found to be working under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, it never occurred to John that he should say anything to Andy about it, let alone tell anyone else about it. Andy's work always has always been first-rate, and John is not the kind of person who feels comfortable discussing such matters with others. Two days before the announcement of the new alcohol and drug policy, Andy tells John that he is being considered for the position of head of quality control. Although pleased at the prospect of Andy's promotion, John wonders if Andy's drinking will get in the way of meeting his responsibilities. John worries that, with additional job pressures, Andy's drinking problem may worsen. Harvey Hillman, Plant Manager at Branch, knows that Andy and John have worked together many years. He has narrowed his choice for Head of Quality Control to Andy and one other person. He invites John out for lunch to see if he can learn something more about Andy from John. At lunch, Harvey stresses to John that the decision on who will be awarded the quality control job is critical for the company. He tells John that the company has had some serious alcohol and drug related problems in recent years and that he had to move Jack Curtis out of head of quality control because Jack was drunk on the job. John says nothing to Harvey about his concerns about Andy, and Andy receives the promotion. A year later, absenteeism remains high. Shoddy workmanship continues, and Branch's profit margins are still declining. Andy was fired a week earlier for being drunk on the job. Harvey fired John because he lost confidence in John for failing to reveal what he knew about Andy's drinking issues. Harvey is now proposing mandatory random drug testing for its non-professional workforce, and mandatory drug testing for all new workers. The labor union protests that such a policy is undesirable in two respects. First, the union says, it is an unwarranted invasion of the privacy of workers. Second, exempting professionals from the testing is discriminatory and, therefore, unjust. What would, you as Branch's Human Resources Director and Company Ethics Officer, recommend to Harvey? You must identify and analyze the ethical dilemmas and the potential solutions in this case. What are the most important elements of this case? What are the key facts? Indicate what solution you would recommend to resolve the situation in an ethical manner.