WAS THE SETTLEMENT AT BNR FAIR?

Was the settlement at BNR fair?

Was the settlement at BNR fair?

Introduction

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BSNF) was established in December 31, in the year 1996 when Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and Burlington Northern Railroad merged as one. It is the second largest railroad system in the United States behind the Union Pacific. It owns and operates tracks in 27 states, mostly in the West and Midwest states, and a small amount of track located in Canada. Due to the complexity of the company, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway is broken down into 14 different divisions. Those divisions are then repeatedly broken down into smaller subdivisions. This was all done to help with what could easily become a logistical nightmare. However, it wasn't a logistical nightmare that happened but a short but influential legal nightmare that ended up happening in early 2001 to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (Winfield, 2006).

Discussion

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway was asked by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to “stop testing its employees for genetic defects as part of a workplace discrimination settlement” (Newman, 2007). This comes as a result of over 30 employees being tested without their knowledge or consent that genetic testing was being conducted using some of their blood samples provided during their physicals. This is the first case initiated against a company and a groundbreaking one when it comes to genetic testing.

The medical physicals were being conducted as a direct result of the employees complaining of possible carpel tunnel syndrome (CTS) from the repeated work they were doing in conjunction with their jobs or occupations (LaPointe, 2006). There ailments weren't from prior medical problems like the company was secretly trying to uncover (Newman, 2007). These complaints hailed from the worker's after many years of working. The repeated pressure and motion endured in their wrists, while working their specific occupation, has caused many of them pain and undue suffering over the years.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company agreed to stop testing its employees after a discrimination settlement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The settlement came after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission went to court on behalf of a 45-year-old track-maintenance worker applied for compensation after developing carpel tunnel syndrome and the fact that the company had been genetic testing its employees without their consent came to light (Chewning, 2007).

The settlement at Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company is fair for a number of reasons. One, genetic information was taken from individuals without knowledge or consent. Two, the company violated the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1995. Three, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. had no proof that there was a need for genetic testing (LaPointe, 2006). And four, the company used the genetic information to escape liability for work related injuries.

The case against Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company is relatively cut and dry from a privacy standpoint. Individuals were being subjected to genetic testing that was not ...