B Business, Law, and Codes of Ethics Katherine Piccolo Department of Private Law and Legal History, University of Milan School of Law (Università degli Studi di Milano), Milan, Italy Synonyms Business ethics; Contract law; Corporate codes; Corporate social responsibility Introduction The dichotomy between business and law has played an important role in the establishment of business ethics, both as a study and a practice. In the past, the dogmatic adherence to the share- holder primacy theory of corporate governance has resulted in managers pursuing economic profit without regard for ethical implications of their conduct or consequence on stakeholder interests. Reports of events such as industrial accidents, corporate bribery, and workers rights’ violations sparked concern for the impact of business activ- ity and, implicitly, the rules that guided the behav- ior of corporate decision-makers. On the one hand, national governments have sought to contain the negative consequences of business with country-specific laws aimed at protecting the natural environment, safeguarding vulnerable categories of people, and boosting investor and public confidence in business. On the other, pressure from international organiza- tions and consumers appears to have essentially driven businesses to adopt codes of ethics to com- municate corporate commitment to social and environmental issues (Cerchia and Piccolo 2019). Business and Law Regarding the former, in America, initiatives such as the Clean Air Act of 1963; the National Envi- ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (which led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency of 1972 aimed at protecting the environment); the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972; and the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 required businesses to rethink production pro- cesses, including the substances used in produc- tion, as well as waste disposal practices. The Equal Pay Act of 1963; the Age Discrim- ination in Employment Act of 1967; the Occupa- tional Safety and Health Act of 1970; the Employment Opportunities for Disabled Ameri- cans Act of 1986; the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993; and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 have also affected a range of corpo- rate (human resource) policies. As concerns laws to improve transparency and deter unethical business practices, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977; the 1991 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 D. C. Poff, A. C. Michalos (eds.), Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_1280-1