Journal Facts

Journal
Journal of Individual Employment Rights
ISSN
1055-7512 (print) 1541-3799 (electronic)
Volume
2
Issue
2
Date
1/1/1993

Article Facts

Title
The Nuremberg Rule in the Workplace: An Observation
DOI
10.2190/QGJU-66FQ-MAMK-NWQH
Authors
  • Franklin Anderson
  • George Munchus
  • Frank Watkins
  • Steven Brown
Pages
153-164
Online Date
05/09/2002

Article Links

The Nuremberg Rule in the Workplace: An Observation

Franklin Anderson
George Munchus
Frank Watkins
Steven Brown

DOI: 10.2190/QGJU-66FQ-MAMK-NWQH

Abstract

Several paradoxes appear in federal law requiring "responsible persons" to remit money held in trust to the Internal Revenue Service (the "100 percent penalty rule"): An employer may fire a person who acts as required by law without any adequate legal remedy for the aggrieved employee.

Under other circumstances that seem similar, courts have found duress, extortion, and conspiracy to support criminal convictions of senior officials under the Hobbs Act and RICO in employment settings. However, in several reported "100 percent penalty" cases the weaker, poorer, subordinate employee is prosecuted by the United States and the stronger, richer, senior executive who ordered the misconduct is ignored. Thus, an employed person is presented two choices: break the law, or be fired without legal protection and probably never work again in a remotely similar position.

Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.