In today's society people are being laid off or losing jobs everyday. Many times it is because a company is going out of business, or may not need as many employees. The company often times cannot afford to pay extra workers. During these circumstances, a question of responsibility and obligations begin to rise. Should businesses in today's free market economy should have an obligation to be socially responsible for these actions which the businesses or company carries out? Businesses operating in a free market economy have limited obligation to be socially responsible.People who lose their jobs because a company is going out of business do not have a choice in the matter. They have not done anything wrong , but happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are several small things that a business should be responsible for doing in these cases. These things involve: sufficient amount of notice before the employee's job is going to be terminated, severance pay, health insurance, support in helping workers put together a resume, and time off for interviews. Sufficient notice of job loss should be at least three months in advance. This gives the employee enough time to begin a job search, plan accordingly with their finances, and also have enough time to have interviews; maybe even find a new job before their present job is terminated. Severance pay should be based on how long the worker has been working for the company and that should be decided by each individual company, although a fair amount of severance pay for someone who has been working for a company. For fifteen years should last approximately eight months. Health insurance should go along with the severance pay length. This will give the employee time to get his or her new health insurance in order with their new job. When the employee is notified of their job loss, the company should provide assistance in writing or updating a resume. Because ...
