On March 3, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced the Corporate Executive Accountability Act, which she says will hold executives of large corporations criminally responsible when their companies commit crimes, harm large numbers of Americans through civil violations, or repeatedly violate federal law. Warren pointed out that executives at large corporations often escape prosecution because it’s hard to demonstrate that they are personally aware of all their company's actions. Establishing knowledge is a critical element of proving most crimes. But some federal laws, including the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Clean Air Act, already impose criminal liability on corporate leaders when a company's negligence causes "massive harm," regardless of whether leaders personally approved actions that were illegal.
展开▼
