Burlington Railway settles their case on genetic testing. Was the settlement fair? I guess that goes with your definition of fair. Are we talking equitable, or compensatory enough that the company feels like it has been punished? Since most companies do not do these things, not in the normative way, then it is hard to say whether it is fair or not. I guess if the victims feel justified, and the company feels reprimanded, then it’s fair. That is the point of a monetary settlement, right? You took something that belonged to me, i.e. pride, privacy, lively hood, or in this case predisposition genetic makeup, and now you must pay for it. In looking at the deontology of the situation, was there a clear cut case of right vs. wrong of the actions that the BNR took? What was the motive or Utilitarianism of Burlington’s actions, and did that motive infringe on peoples privacy?
The test involved employees who filed claims for carpal tunnel syndrome, a wrist condition believed to be caused by repetitive hand motions, and per the National Academy of Science, is the leading workplace injury. The testing being done looked for a genetic trait called chromosome 17 deletion. Some studies have suggested that a person with the trait is more likely to develop some form of carpal tunnel syndrome (Rail workers 2001). Of the 40, 000 employees of BNR, 125 people were tested. In the final settlement 36 people were given 2.2 million dollars (French 2002).
“Burlington admitted no wrongdoing” (Genetic 2002), nor was there any evidence that the information obtained by Burlington was used in anyway to discriminate against their employees. In fact, the only time that the genetic tests were obtained was when their employees voluntarily came to them, seeking medical assistance with injuries acquired while on the job. So why in the world would they collect the information in the first place? They did not advertise that they were doing it, so by definition of privacy (Persson 2003)...