Ethics of Employment in the U.S. Restaurant Industry

My experiences and exposure to the U.S. restaurant industry have led me to believe that the average U.S. restaurant employee is grossly mistreated. There are several issues of concern that span the industry. Some issues are based around minimum wage, others around poor benefits, to name a few. All of these issues stem out of a lack of a consistent system of ethics within the industry. I chose to analyze the issues in the United States’ restaurant industry, with intent to propose a solution at the end of my thesis. From here, I compare and contrast the U.S. industry with the French restaurant industry and their systems of employee treatment. The French system contains many desirable aspects that may be used to improve our own industry. From here I compare possible ethical solutions in relation to two frameworks of justice theory: Rawlsian Liberalism and Libertarianism. These polarized and competitive viewpoints offer the most diverse range of possible solutions to the U.S. restaurant industry’s issues. To conclude, I propose solutions that were inspired by the French industry and can work in conjunction with Rawlsian Liberal and Libertarian viewpoints. These solutions would ideally improve the U.S. industry for the long term