Dole Food Co. v. Patrickson

Dole Food Co. v. Patrickson

American employees in foreign countries do have protections under U.S. law, even though they are working abroad. If you have dealings with employees or a contracted workforce either directly or indirectly in foreign countries, this case review will be of interest and importance to you and your corporation. The crux of the case is the U.S. workers have protection under U.S. law, but the foreign workers do not have protections under the U.S. law, or so was thought. Farmworkers from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Panama filed a state court action in 1997 against Dole Foods Co. et al. alleging injury because of exposure to chemicals used in agricultural pesticides. Dole impleaded Dead Sea Bromine and Bromine Compound.

This case is complex and involves a large multi-national corporation and foreign workers. Although the case is from 1997, the ramifications of the final decision can still affect corporations today. Address the following in a paper:

1. Is a corporation's instrumentality status defined as of the time of an alleged tort or other actionable wrong?
2. Identify the shared responsibilities of the corporation and employees. What are the steps taken to resolve this matter and avoid future ones?
3. What does the Court conclude in this case and why?
4. Your thoughts on the case, its impact and results.

Support your paper with minimum of five (5) resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources, including older articles, may be included.