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| "The Reception of Siamese Ambassadors by Emperor Napoleon III at the Palace of Fontainebleau, 27 June 1861" (1861) by Jean-Leon Gerome |
If a citizen of another nation agrees to a contract with an American company, and the American company does not uphold its end of the contract (not paying that citizen what was promised for services rendered, for example), should that citizen be able to sue the company in an American court?
Should U.S. courts be empowered to punish U.S. companies that break contractual agreements with citizens of other nations?
Answer one or both of the questions above only after you have read part two, chapter one and all previous chapters.
Note: This is not a research question. Your challenge is not to identify laws that govern such scenarios (though you can do that if you wish). This is a moral justice question. Consult your sense of what is rational and fair, and your thoughts and beliefs about international relationships and the obligations, limitations, and responsibilities of governments. In other words, this is not about what the current laws are but what they should be.
Yes, a citizen of another country should be able to sue an American company in an American court if the American company does not uphold a previously agreed upon contract. If the citizen couldn’t do that, then it could easily become a human rights violation. Just because someone doesn’t live in America doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be treated under due process. It isn’t humane, which is why Americans are protected under this right in the first place.
ReplyDeleteIn tandem with that, U.S. courts should be empowered to punish U.S. companies that break contractual agreements with citizens of other nations. Besides the reasons listed above, if these companies feel no remorse abusing citizens of other nations, who knows what else they do that could be illegal. Letting a company that takes advantage of others run rampant sets a bad precedent and they need to be punished accordingly.
I think it fair to uphold the idea that, regardless of where the immigrant is coming from, they should be able to sue an American company in the American court. Not just because it’s as simple as an American run thing can and should be sued in America, but because it’s the decent thing to do. If we allow such a blockade to exist on immigrants than what’s stopping any American company from abusing this power. International flight companies could discriminate against certain countries and there would be nothing they could do. Having the ability to sue something in the area it came from is as simple as doing what’s right. It’s having the ability to stand up against corrupt processes. Most don’t seek anything from it. They do it because it’s right.
ReplyDeleteNow, when it comes to if the U.S. courts should have the empowerment to punish unlawful U.S. companies, I think that’s also right. How else are we to enforce humane processes and human decency. What would be the point in suing the company if the courts couldn’t fix the problem? We have to give some power to the courts that way complaints are listened to, judged, and acted upon.
In regards to the first question.
ReplyDeleteIf someone from another country thinks they have a valid reason, they should be able to take an American company to court. This way, international rules are followed, and people can get justice where the company is doing business. Letting people sue like this makes sure companies stick to their promises and helps everyone trust international deals. Having clear rules about which laws apply and where you can go to court makes things fairer, so everyone knows what’s expected of them.
Yes, absolutely the citizen should be able to sue the company, a contract should be honored no matter if it was made internationally or not. A contract should be upheld, and if broken persecuted to the fullest extent of the law. As Zachary said, it is not humane to enter a contract and then bully your way out of your end of the contract.
ReplyDeleteAs I previously stated, a break in a contract should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and although the way I am saying this sounds funny, part of that is extending the law. Extending the law to govern migrant workers would prevent a lot of problems from happening, and it would help keep businesses/large businesses in check. I believe that businesses should be held in check at all times, no business should be able to bully their way out of paying their workers, or to be able to bully even the U.S. government.
Yes. If a contract made between a citizen of another nation and an American company is not upheld by the American company, then I think the citizen should be able to pursue legal action against the company in an American court. I think the U.S. courts should be allowed to hold these contract breaking companies accountable and prosecute them in court to help protect migrant workers.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the second question, U.S. courts should be able to punish companies that break contracts with workers from other nations. Companies in the United States should represent their nation well and the court should be able to ensure this happens. These workers had America on a pedestal and were so excited about its possibilities, but these hopes were taken advantage of and crushed. That is the reality of America if these companies are not met with consequences.
ReplyDelete-Jenna Whitehead
This is a question that I personally have the most opinion about. In the context of the story the companies brought over immigrants with the promise of a green card however they never gave them out and threatened to contact the border patrol if they complained about not being paid. This is wrong on so many levels. The first thing I'm going to mention of course is not paying their workers. The question asks whether or not the workers can sue in american court but there have already been so many different instances where this has happened and countries have bashed these companies. A great example of this is the boeing crisis in 2018 where 2 boeing aircraft crashed due to negligence. Indonesian families sued boeing due to the unnecessary deaths of their loved ones. So to put this into perspective the people have every right to sue these companies for their negligence.
ReplyDeleteHowever there is one much bigger crime these companies did during this time that I find incredibly upsetting. When these companies brought in these immigrant workers into America with the promise of becoming American citizens. When they denied them of what they promised the companies basically brought illegal immigrants into the nation. In modern day and even then this information would make people livid. The idea that companies are bringing in immigrants to do work, refusing to pay them, and then dumping them in the United states as illegals is infuriating. Not only should these companies be sued by the individuals for not following their contracts but they also need to be federally investigated for bringing in illegals into the nation. One thing I want to make clear is that I am heavily for immigration. Immigration is the founding reason this nation exists and I heavily support people moving to the United states. But when people come into this nation illegally, unregistered, and with no background check it leads to massive problems.