Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, and other whistleblowers have sparked an intense debate on the ethics of leaking secrets. Some view these people as martyrs, others view them as traitors. Numerous laws and acts have been put in place to protect those who choose to expose an entity’s wrongdoings, but where do we draw the line between honest whistleblowing and smear campaigns?
Corporate Whistleblowers
The subject of a leak and the method in which a whisteblower announces their findings all play a role in the ethics of a case. Is the accuser attempting to enact revenge on a corporation by tarnishing their reputation, or are they genuinely trying to alert the public of fraud, harmful practices, and other misdeeds? Many employees keep quiet when they witness corruption because they fear losing their jobs and risk damaging their chances of future employment. And even if an attempt is made, businesses will go to great lengths to cover their tracks, including forcing employees to sign contracts that prevent workers from speaking up about company policies. Consider the case of Donna Busche, whose story was mentioned in thisWashington Post article. According to the Post, Busche was fired after raising safety concerns about the nuclear facility she managed. The nondisclosure agreement prevented Busche and her coworkers from reporting mishaps, and also made it impossible for them to receive financial rewards for whistleblowing. Like many others before her, Busche was accused of being fired for other reasons, despite her claims that she did it for ethical reasons.
Measures such as the Dodd-Frank act of 2010 and the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement act of 2012 are meant to protect people like Busche. However, some believe that the government isn’t doing enough to enforce these rules, while others believe that the law encourages people to lie for financial gain. Dodd-Frank rewards whistleblowers with up to 30 percent of the recovery, which can generate millions for the prosecution in a big case.
Going Against the Government
The legality of whistleblowing becomes even more muddled when it involves the government. Snowden’s most recent revelations about the National Security Agency (NSA) have some lauding him as a hero, while others accuse him of treason.
Most recently, a women by the name of Sabrina De Sousa is being punished for her involvement in the kidnapping of Abu Omar. Aljazeera America ran an article about the former CIA operative, who claims to be used as a “scapegoat” for the CIA. De Sousa was working with the CIA in Italy at the time of the kidnapping, but made several attempts to alert Congress to investigate the CIA’s actions. She believed that their treatment of Omar was a huge mistake, and after failing to receive support, found herself being accused for being the mastermind of the operation.
A Difficult Decision
Although the majority of Americans won’t be involved in cases like Snowden’s and De Sousa’s, some may find themselves in a difficult position. A whistleblower is oftentimes the spark needed to ignite a corporate fraud case. Before deciding to go public with information, it’s important for potential whistleblowers to look over contracts they may have signed and learn more about their state’s laws. Even corporations who find themselves the subject of a leak will need to launch an investigation to prove the accuracy of such claims.
For several decades, animal rights organizations have provided a voice to the animals that couldn’t speak up for themselves. The fight against animal cruelty is ongoing, and despite new regulations, many animals are still kept in abusive conditions worldwide. One of the best ways to catch the offenders and put an end to the cruelty is by gathering video evidence of inhumane situations. Many of these animal rights organizations have begun hiring private investigators to do surveillance on locations that have been rumored to be abusive.
A Voice for those Who Have None
In 2009, TIMEran an article about a private eye who went undercover at a hog farm. The investigator, who went by the name “Pete”, gave up his dream of becoming a cop and left behind his family and friends to pursue a career as an animal rights investigator. His account of the farm and the ensuing court case were featured in an HBO documentary called Death on a Factory Farm. Thanks to his video evidence, Pete has been able to uncover horrible conditions at farms and factories of all kinds throughout the country. According to him, the worst was chicken farms, where barely living hens were tossed into the trash after having their necks broken.
Farms aren’t the only places being targeted by investigators and organizations alike. The Ringling Bros. Circus and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have been in an ongoing battle over claims of animal abuse. PETA has launched its own investigation into the circus, documenting video footage of circus staff beating elephants and gathering witness accounts from past circus employees. Aquariums and zoos have also been in the news after documentaries like Blackfish brought abuse at SeaWorld to the public’s eye. Zoos, kennels, and even private homes are also hot spots that may require an investigation.
Doing it the Right Way
Often, the people who look into these claims and infiltrate businesses aren’t investigators at all. And when someone who’s inexperienced in the field of investigation goes undercover, there’s the potential for serious consequences. Consider the story of Taylor Radig, an animal right’s activist who went undercover at a cattle company in Denver, Colorado. Radig was a contractor for Compassion Over Killing, an organization dedicated to uncovering and preventing animal cruelty. Her investigation was centered around gathering video evidence at the cattle farm. During her time there, Radig witnessed workers pushing and shoving day old calves, a clear sign of animal abuse. Once she presented authorities with her proof, those workers were charged with cruelty to animals. However, Radig soon found herself charged with the Class 1 misdemeanor as well, because she had neglected to report the abuse as soon as she had seen it.
Taylor Radig isn’t the only person to be charged with the very abuse she was trying to prevent, and she certainly won’t be the last. Some states have laws that require cruelty to be reported immediately, and those who view it and fail to tell authorities in time are just as guilty as the offenders. That’s why it’s important to hire someone who is experienced in the field. Even Pete, the private eye who investigated the hog farm, was unlicensed at the time of the article. He and others like him run the risk of criminal charges and lawsuits if they get caught, and the evidence might not hold up in court as well if it was obtained illegally.
For these reasons, several animal rights groups have decided that simply having an organization member go undercover isn’t enough. These groups are dealing with big companies, and investigations require careful planning that are performed according to the law. Hiring a licensed, experienced investigator who is familiar with the law can ensure that this video evidence is collected in a safe matter. After all, a court battle involving an amateur investigator takes away time and attention from the true victims here: the animals.
After a tragedy occurs, we often hear stories of survival. These stories give us hope, and allow us to emphasize with the victims who were brave enough to share their experiences. In these times of hardship, no one is going to question a victim’s story. Haven’t they been through enough already?
Perhaps not. Sometimes there are lies mixed in among these accounts from survivors, which is why properly vetting a candidate is essential.
When the Truth Comes Out
Consider the case of Somaly Mam, a Cambodian woman who claimed she was a victim of sex trafficking during her childhood. According to Mam’s story, she was sold into slavery around age 10 and was then forced to marry a soldier at age 14. Mam went as far as creating a foundation named after her, which raised money and awareness for victims. The organization and Mam herself gained the attention of big name celebrities such as Oprah WInfrey and Susan Sarandon. Many articles and columns have been written, praising Mam for all she had done. However, when a Newsweek journalist did some digging on Mam’s past, it soon came to light that Mam had fabricated her tale (Mullany, “Activist Resigns Amid Charges of Fabrication”).
And let’s not forget about Tania Head, whose horrific account of the September, 11 attacks placed her as president of the Survivors’ Network. Head told reporters she had been in the south tower, witnessing gruesome deaths and nearly losing her own arm before being rescued by the heroic Welles Crowther. She also claimed to have lost her husband, Dave in the attacks. At the time of her debut, the nation was still healing, and no one wanted to interrogate a woman who had gone through so much. However, many survivors began to notices several holes in her story. Head quickly dismissed them and did her best to cover her tracks. It wasn’t until The New York Times began to do a little background checking on her for a piece that the truth came out. Tania Head wasn’t even in the country at the time of the attacks, and had never been married to Dave. In fact, her real name wasn’t even Tania Head (NPR Staff, “The Amazing, Untrue Story Of A Sept. 11 Survivor”).
A Lesson Learned
Even though these women lied about their past, many still struggle with letting them go. Mam raised over $2 million in donations for victims of sex trafficking in 2012, and many Sept. 11 survivors credit Head with helping them heal. But despite the good they’ve done, the fact that they lied remains. The true victims are overshadowed by people like Mam and Head, and the actions of these two leave others to question the stories of the real survivors. When this happens, the organizations and people they were affiliated with lose their credibility. After all, a simple background check was all it took to discover the truth. These organizations handle millions of dollars and deal with sensitive subjects, yet they couldn’t have bothered to double check a few details?
Situations like these emphasize the importance of properly vetting a candidate before they are able to hold a position of power. This rings true for everyone, not just supposed victims. The practice of vetting a candidate is most often used in politics to ensure that they haven’t embellished too much about their past. Companies who are in the process of hiring executives need to examine the backgrounds of their candidates, which was explained in our article on Executive Background Checks.
When it comes to situations like the ones Mam and Head were involved in, it is always best to err on the side of caution and make sure their stories check out. Doing so can prevent legal troubles, liability issues, and even heartbreak.
In today’s market, staying ahead of your competitors can drastically effect how well your company performs. Knowing a rival’s next move and understanding their business strategy has helped corporations form their own business plans. That’s why many organizations are practicing “competitive intelligence,” loosely defined as the act of gathering and analyzing information about other businesses in a competitive market. Competitive intelligence exists in a grey area between industrial espionage and ethical information gathering. The difference between having a healthy competitive strategy and unethically spying on other companies is the way in which you collect and process this information.
Finding Information the Right Way
The idea of “staying ahead” of an opposing entity may evoke thoughts of ancient war mongers sliding figurines around an old map. Although competitive intelligence may seem like a battle strategy, the actual practice is much tamer. When done effectively, competitive intelligence is simply a way to better understand how your business fits into a specific market. It’s a relatively new term for a practice that has been in effect for decades. Every company will have a slightly different view on the term as they mold their marketing strategies to fit their needs. Some companies merely track their competitors, while others implement entire multilevel competitve strategies centered around the data they gather.
In the past, information on rival corporations was harder to come by through ethical means. Collecting data on other companies and firms seemed more like actual spying than basic market research. Now, all of that information is available freely on the internet for everyone to see. Many corporations post data online or send out press releases concerning their company. Even client testimonials that are publicly available are taken into consideration. With data so readily available, businesses can focus more on interpreting this information and using it to better their company.
When Competitive Intelligence Takes a Darker Turn
Although the rise of the internet and related technologies has been great for companies that want to stay up-to-date on their competition, it has also made it easier for organizations to collect information in unethical ways. Trade secret theft and patent infringement cases are abundant in the news, with some involving big corporations like Apple and Samsung. And with the recent discovery of Chinese workers hacking into American companies,more people are questioning the morality of competitive research. Hacking into a company’s computer system or posing as an employee and stealing information are both obviously unethical practices, but what about other intelligence-gathering initiatives? Where do we draw the line?
While it’s true that all companies will have a different opinion on the matter, one thing is clear: spying on other corporations does not fall under the umbrella of competitive intelligence. Many experts believe that companies are beginning to lose sight of what ethical market research is in their drive to get ahead. They put an emphasis on collecting as much data as possible, but don’t know what to do with it once they have it. Some organizations seek to hurt other businesses through competitive research, rather then using this knowledge to better themselves. And while this might not harm your company in a legal sense, it can hurt your company’s reputation in the eyes of the consumer. Many unethical information-gathering practices are still legal, so it is often up to the corporation to decide what is right and wrong. If you find yourself questioning whether or not your company’s actions are dishonest, it might be a sign that they are involved in some unethical practices.
Hiring a new CEO, CFO, or COO can be a long and arduous process for many corporations. Sometimes, it’s easy to overlook risks in a high-ranking executive or trust dishonest information. Before making a decision, corporations should consider hiring a private investigator to perform executive background checks of a potential corporate officer. Doing so can stop an unscrupulous individual from tarnishing a company’s reputation and prevent possible litigation for negligent hiring.
Risks to Consider
Do you know if the candidate has a criminal record? Do they have a good reputation among other businesses in the market? Past mistakes aren’t always a deal-breaker, but they can provide some insight on a person’s character and ability to perform in a high-ranking position. Individuals will go to great lengths to hide their offenses or lie about themselves. A DUI may be an indicator of someone who has had a substance abuse problem, or a record of domestic violence could suggest a history of anger problems. A bad credit report could be a sign of future embezzlement problems. Some of the most common red flags that an executive background investigation should uncover are as follows:
DUI/DWIs
Domestic violence arrests/restraining orders
Bankruptcy
Arrests/convictions
Bad bredit reports
Theft/fraud
Reasons for leaving past companies
There have been several cases of executives who lied about their credentials or fudged their resumes. Consider the case of Scott Thompson, once CEO of Yahoo!, who lied about having a computer science degree. Or take note of Marilee Jones, Dean of Admissions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who never earned any of her supposed degrees. These people are able to get away with dishonesty because no one had thought to question them in the past. It’s easy to look at a candidate’s job history and assume that the other big companies they worked for had already checked their credentials, but clearly that is not always the case.
Too often, executives are able to hide these red flags for years until they are discovered by an investigative reporter or through someone within the company. A corporation that hires a shady CEO can face public embarrassment and loss in shares. In 2002, shares for Veritas SoftWare Corp. dropped 20 percent after it came out that their CEO had lied about his education. Thefallacies that jeopardized these corporations’ reputations could have possibly been prevented if a comprehensive executive background investigation had taken place.
Hiring a Private Investigator
Most basic background checks will uncover things such as names, addresses, past employers, and a criminal record. It may be tempting to perform a Google search of a candidate and call it a day, but this will only give you a very general outline of a candidate and won’t always be accurate. Nowadays, people have become more aware of their presence online and have found ways to cover things up. An online search won’t turn up as many results as an investigation will, either. Many official documents and records are not available publicly online, and some states have different laws regarding arrests and offenses. Hiring a private investigator to check out a candidate’s background can uncover information that an online search cannot. A typical executive screening may include a search of:
Employment history
Criminal records
Driving records
Education
Civil history
Executive background history investigations will provide corporations with a detailed report of a CEO’s character and work ethic before a hiring decision is made. An experienced private investigator knows what to look for and where to find it, in an ethical and legal way.These investigators will work with companies to provide an in-depth assessment of a potential executive’s background and ensure that a company has a clear view of the person they are hiring.
All over the country, immigrant workers spend hours harvesting the very fruits and vegetables that we put on our tables every day. However, many of these women face more than sore fingers and a blistering sun on the job. Verbal and sexual assault run rampant in the fields, and unfortunately the majority of these cases go unreported by the victims. When a report does come out, it often gets dismissed due to lack of evidence. Corporations in the agriculture industry that suspect sexual assault can hire a private investigator to conduct an internal investigation of the allegations.
Pressured by Power
In May of 2012, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a 96-page report detailing the workplace abuse that farmworkers have faced and bringing to light the stories of those victims who had kept silent for so long. According to the report, women farmworkers are most often threatened by men who oversee them, and who are in positions of power. One particular worker was quoted in the report, stating:
“For me, it felt like an eternity. I wanted to scream but I couldn’t. Afterward, he said I should remember that it’s because of him that I have this job, and if I say anything, I’ll lose my job…. I was afraid to call the police, to do anything. I didn’t know what to do. My mind was completely blocked off.”
Nearly all of the workers interviewed by HRW reported being victims of sexual abuse at work or knowing of someone who had. Other victims shared similar stories, with supervisors bribing them with money or threatening to fire them if they spoke of the abuse. Although workplace sexual harassment appears to be commonplace in the fields, it is incredibly hard to pinpoint the amount. Many of these women do not have a choice and worry that they’ll lose the only source of income their family has. For some, sexual harassment has become part of the job.
A Growing Problem
Despite the efforts of organizations like Human Rights Watch and the Center for Investigative Reporting, the sexual harassment female farmworkers face still continues. Those who work in agriculture already face challenges such as low wages and long hours, so victims of abuse fall through the cracks. Thanks to these organizations and the women they spoke to, many more victims are coming forward. Even so, the allegations rarely result in justice, with most cases being dismissed or left up in the air. Farmworkers often do not have the funds to afford an attorney, and many of the cases lack physical evidence needed to convict the accused.
Consider the case of Evans Fruit Co., one of the largest suppliers of apples in the United States. A supervisor was accused of assaulting several women, including a 15 year-old girl. Both the victims and the supervisor had conflicting stories, but the company won the case in the end. In most cases such as this one, the alleged abuser is a repeat offender that won’t stop until he is caught.
Importance of Internal Investigations
Companies have begun to provide training on sexual assault to ensure that their workers understand their rights. However, many corporations hire farm labor contractors that oversee the hiring of workers and the harvesting of crops. The recent Supreme Court case Vance V. Ball State University has made it more difficult for employers to sue the supervisors that are abusing their employees. Many of these businesses are unaware of the abuse, thus tarnishing their image and resulting in a loss of employees.
Conducting an internal investigation of these allegations can help large companies weed out abusive employees and protect the innocent, as well as prove the legitimacy of these claims. Sexual harassment can be a difficult and emotional experience for everyone involved, which is why it is important to hire a professional investigator. Too often, these claims are not investigated deeply enough and as a result, seem to be unfounded. Thomas Lauth, CEO and founder of Lauth Investigations International, Inc., understands the importance of sexual harassment claims and the damage they cause to both the victims and the employers. The experienced private investigators at Lauth Investigations International, Inc. will work closely with your company in a thorough and professional manner.
