1. What are the ethical issues in this case from an employee’s point of view? From management’s point of view? From a consumer’s point of view?
2. Who are the stakeholders, and what are their stakes?
3. As a peer review panel member, how would you judge this case? Do you think Ms. Hatton stole company property? Do you think the discharge should be upheld?
4. Do you think the peer review method of resolving work complaints is a desirable substitute for lawsuits? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
5. If you had been Ms. Hatton, would you be willing to turn your case over to a peer review panel like this and then be willing to live with the results?

Ruth Hatton, a waitress for a Red Lobster restaurant in Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania, was fired from her job because she was accused of stealing a guest-comment card that had been deposited in the customer comment box by a disgruntled couple.1 The couple, who happened to be black, had been served by Ms. Hatton and were unhappy with the treatment they perceived they got from her. At the time of her firing, Ms. Hatton, age 53, had been a 19-year veteran employee. She said, “It felt like a knife going through me.”