American Apparel and its CEO, Charney, are sued by Morales, a former employee, for sexual harassment and maintaining a hostile environment for workers. The mutual respect among employees in terms of sexual relationships is ambiguous because of Charney’s philosophy of sexual freedom in the workplace, in which he believes to be “right to pursue one’s affection for another human being.”
However, the company is clearly violating the fundamental business ethics that consist of moral values and legal duties to ensure trust and a safe environment for its employees. What Charney calls “sexual freedom” is ironic because such relationship is about authority, not necessarily romance. This is evident as the article questions the responsibility both parties have for accepting the consequences of a relationship “when one party has power over other’s salary or keeping the job.” This puts workers in a hazardous and unjust situation.
What Charney has done is not only the illegal act of sexual harassment, but also placed a great harm to business in general as business ethics are outrageously violated by a company of fame. American Apparel now involves itself in a lawsuit, and as well, its reliability and reputation are destroyed in the eyes of customers.
These advertisements from American Apparel reveal the underlying work environment of the company.
Stakeholder Video on Business Ethics
