Corporate Compliance

With the globalization of economy and society in full expansion has come increased attention to corporate compliance. Companies can not, as they do, there are regulatory factors, the balance ethics with rationality. For example, why a company, a product cheaper by polluting the environment, there is no right to do so. Compliance means simply followed the law. The law for companies is available in several forms: federal laws, state laws, the law of agency andindustry standards. Breaking any of these regulations could have disastrous consequences for a company. According to Gentiva “The initial purpose of compliance was to act as a mitigating factor to reduce liability under the law. Over the years, compliance has evolved into a more integral business component with its focus on maintaining the company’s status as a good corporate citizen.” This emphasis and new standard has caused many companies to create a corporate compliance position where the only duty of the individual is responsible to support and monitor the compliance status of the company. Some key concerns are compliance with business ethics, qualifications, equal opportunities and / or fair employment practices, sexual harassment, and environmental protection. Companies that vigilance is maintained in these areas generally safe when it comes to compliance issues. Keep a good record of compliance is not only useful, but most of the timeto make or break a company. The most important point is that non-compliance can affect a company's bottom line.
Sexual Harassment: Civil Rights Act of 1964

Sexual harassment is a part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and applies to companies with 15 or more employees. E 'sexual orientation as "unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct described a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly CONSIDERATIONS OF AIndividual employment, unreasonably interferes with the performance of individual work, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment "([http://www.eeoc.gov/types/sexual_harassment.html]) The circumstances are not limited Others:

• The victim and the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim must not be of the opposite sex.

• The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a representative of the employer, being aSupervisor in another area, a colleague or a non-employee.

• The victim should not be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by this offensive behavior.

• unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury or discharge of the victim.

• The harassment must be unwelcome. ([HTTP: / / www.eeoc.gov / types / sexual_harassment.html]).
Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Passed in 2002, Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) enacted toHelp regain public confidence in the society after the disasters of companies like Enron and WorldCom. The first part of the plot was the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which is charged with "controlling, regulating, monitoring and disciplining accounting firms in their roles as auditors of public companies" create (http://en.wikipedia . org / wiki / Sarbanes-Oxley_Act).

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

The EPA comprises 18,000 people in headquarters programOffices, 10 branches and 17 laboratories across the country. The EPA employs well-educated, technically qualified employees, more than half of them are engineers, scientists and environmental professionals. A large number of employees are legal, public affairs, finance and IT specialists.
The EPA provides leadership in the nation's environmental science, research, education and evaluation activities. The EPA works closely with other federal agencies, state and localdeveloping governments and Indian tribes and enforce regulations under existing environmental legislation. The EPA is responsible for research and the establishment of national standards for a variety of environmental programs and delegates from the states and tribes the responsibility for issuing permits and monitoring and enforcement. Where national standards are not met, EPA can issue sanctions and other measures of support in countries and tribes to achieve the desired level of environmental protectionQuality. The agency also works with industry and all levels of government in a variety of prevention programs, voluntary energy conservation efforts.
In July 1970, the law, the fire has passed EPA river, which was a response to growing public demand for clean water, air and soil Cuyahoga, spurred by such scandals in the 1969th Before the founding of the EPA, the federal government was not structured to ensure a coordinated attack to doThe pollutants that are harmful to human health and harming the environment. The EPA has had the task of repairing the damage already to the natural environment and new criteria for the Americans in making a cleaner environment to create a guide that actually assigned
Compare the companies investigated

Toyota North America Inc. and Denny's Inc.

Both companies, Toyota Motor North America Inc. and Denny's Inc. have been cited in a dispute claim of sexual harassment against a femaleEmployee. The involvement of the EEOC helps both employees who have contributed with their request to change the mentality of both companies and workers. The size of the companies do not play a fact in the actions shown, however, that any kind of discrimination or sexual harassment are not tolerated.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, states:
"Bullying is a form of discrimination in the workplace, that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discrimination based on age, in violationin Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) and Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). "

Harassment is unwanted conduct based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability and / or age. Harassment is illegal if: 1) permanently on the offensive lead to a condition of continued employment or 2) the conduct is severe or widespread enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or create unfair.The anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any manner in an investigation or prosecution under this Act or the working practices that they believe individuals reasonably discrimination, in violation of these laws.

Petty insults, annoyances, and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not reach the level of illegality. misconductmust have a working environment that is intimidating, hostile or offensive to a reasonable person would have created.

([HTTP: / / www.eeoc.gov / types / harassment.html])

Both companies have attempted to silence the acquisations is terminating the employee, as in the case against Denny's, Inc., or moving the employee to another department be terminated in the class action against Toyota North America Corporation. In any case, the manager was wrong.

AppleComputer

The first company was in violation of SOX was Apple Computer that an internal investigation showed that the backdating of stock options. The results for Apple Computer, the development of a special committee to investigate allegations. Although the investigation has any fault on the part of Apple Computers, there were some serious concerns. The final results for Apple Computer is actively with the SEC and the provision of reporting non-monetary costsCompensation related to prior stock options.

Wind River Systems

Other companies were Wind River Systems Software International has been found, even non-compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley for financial risk management. The problem has been resolved Wind River streamline its fragmented accounting teams in three regional teams and unnecessary closing of bank accounts. This reduces the risk of fraud and storage of Wind RiverSystem of thousands of dollars in unnecessary bank charges.

MSN and AOL

Another phase of the protection that SOX offer companies and their customers and investors need security. By the age of the computer is the ultimate form of communication known as IM poses new security problems. A large percentage of companies in the corporate world is fixed, which are more dependent on this type of technological progress. Two major suppliers of MSN and AOL rely heavily on theirbusiness partners and maintain compliance with SOX. Therefore, he worked as a software vendor Akonix has announced that real-time requirements from SOX and internal controls for these IM services is needed.

Conclusion

The importance of a compliance program to prevent anti-competitive conduct under the law and in detecting and dealing with such behavior should not be underestimated. The procedures put in place as the result of a compliance programserve not only to identify unlawful or questionable conduct, but also the awareness that to promote ethical standards of behavior result.
The implementation of an effective compliance program that is civilized behavior and criminal conduct reviewable mail a good deal. Can help to avoid negative publicity and financial costs of companies for violations of the Act applies. A compliance program is a better understanding of what is acceptable behavior, so that legitimateanti-competitive practices can be vigorously pursued, without undue concerns about the violation of the law.