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Full-Text Articles in Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics
What's In A Wage? A New Approach To The Justification Of Pay, Jeffrey Moriarty
What's In A Wage? A New Approach To The Justification Of Pay, Jeffrey Moriarty
Philosophy Faculty Publications
In this address, I distinguish and explore three conceptions of wages. A wage is a reward, given in recognition of the performance of a valued task. It is also an incentive: a way to entice workers to take and keep jobs, and to motivate them to work hard. Finally, a wage is a price of labor, and like all prices, conveys valuable information about relative scarcity. I show that each conception of wages has its own normative logic, or appropriate justification, and these logics can come apart. This explains some of the debate about wages and makes the project of …
Is 'Equal Pay For Equal Work' Merely A Principle Of Nondiscrimination?, Jeffrey Moriarty
Is 'Equal Pay For Equal Work' Merely A Principle Of Nondiscrimination?, Jeffrey Moriarty
Philosophy Faculty Publications
Should people who perform equal work receive equal pay? Most would say ‘yes’, at least insofar as this question is understood to be asking whether employers should be permitted to discriminate against employees on the basis of race or sex. But suppose the employees belong to all of the same traditionally protected groups. Is (what I call) nondiscriminatory unequal pay for equal work wrong? Drawing an analogy with price discrimination, I argue that it is not intrinsically wrong, but it can be deceptive, in which case it is wrong.
Compensation Ethics And Organizational Commitment, Jeffrey Moriarty
Compensation Ethics And Organizational Commitment, Jeffrey Moriarty
Philosophy Faculty Publications
If an employee is committed to his firm – if he is “attached” or “bound” to it – then his firm may be able to obtain a discount on his labor. This paper asks: Is it wrong for firms to do so? If we understand just or fair pay solely in terms of voluntary agreements between employers and employees, the answer seems to be ‘no’. Against this, I argue that, in some cases, it is ‘yes’. In particular, it is wrong for firms to try to obtain discounts on their committed employees’ labor when their employees reasonably expect that they …