issues of fair treatment and quality have been legislated and are the basis of the current code of conduct. Within the funeral services industry, the question of ethical practice covers broad ground and encompasses everything we do as professionals—from the way we behave toward each other, our colleagues, and the families we serve to the treatment of a deceased human body. which have in turn led to the development of ethical standards and codes of conduct. Adhering to prescribed levels of ethical standards within the industry means that funeral professionals, especially the funeral director, are not only responsible for their own actions but also take on the responsibility for all members of the staff, both paid and volunteer. complaints and conducting investigations, suing companies and people that break the law, developing rules to maintain a fair marketplace, and educating consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities. While there are few establishments with truly poor reputations, the majority of complaints that do occur have to do with pricing and consumer abuse. They include issues such as high costs that take advantage of the grieving, fraudulent prepaid funeral plans, high-pressure merchandise sales, and sales of unnecessary products. Rule also allows consumers to compare prices among funeral homes and to freely choose the home from which they will purchase services. The Rule does not apply to third-party sellers such as casket and monument dealers, or to cemeteries that lack an on-site funeral home. those guidelines be translated into actual behavior. The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is responsible for making it possible to fulfill those guidelines by providing appropriate training, support, and follow-up. ● Members shall comply with all applicable federal or state laws or regulations relating to the prearrangement, prepayment, or prefinancing of funeral services or merchandise. ● Members shall release deceased persons to the custody of the person or entity who has the legal right to affect a release without requiring payment before the release. ● Members shall not use any funeral merchandise previously used and sold without prior permission of the person selecting or paying for the use of the merchandise. ● Members shall comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Industry Practices Regulation. ● Members shall protect confidential information pertaining to the deceased or the family of the deceased from disclosure. ● Members shall carry out all aspects of the funeral service in a competent and respectful manner. ● Members shall properly account for and remit any monies, documents, or personal property that belongs to others that comes into the member’s possession. ● Members shall not engage in any unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the families they serve in the course of providing professional services. Family members of the deceased should be provided counsel and treated in a caring and ethical manner throughout the duration of the funeral process and into the future, postservices. The funeral director and staff members of the funeral home
Codes of conduct may never be complete and may not include rules and regulations that apply to every situation. These codes should therefore be considered within the additional frameworks of company policies, procedures, ethical standards, and legal requirements. In our society, ethical concerns tend to escalate and are often raised to the consideration of a government level. In the field of death care and funeral services, cases regarding Impact of ethics on the funeral industry The death care industry has attracted the attention of both the government and the media over the years because of the social impact of its services and its growing size in the business sector. The industry in which funeral professionals operate is what some may consider nontraditional and is complex in that it exists at the intersection of deep human emotion and business. It is therefore not surprising that there have been thousands of complaints in regards to pricing and consumer exploitation over the years, Ethical concerns The death care industry in the U.S. consists of professional divisions of funeral homes; cemeteries, which include mausoleums; and crematoriums, which together were estimated to have generated approximately $68 billion in annual revenue between 2018 and 2023, according to the United States Death Care Market Report . Services within the funeral services and death care industry continue to be necessary for virtually every family. The Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection stops unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent business practices by collecting The Rule The Funeral Rule, often referred to as “the Rule” and enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), mandates that the consumer has the right to choose only those goods and services they want or need and to pay only for those they select, whether making arrangements when a death occurs or in advance. The Code of Professional Conduct Codes of conduct provide concrete guidance on how to act in accordance with industry ethics standards. Within the death care industry, that code is known at the Code of Professional Conduct (NFDA, 2022a). While codes of ethics provide essential guidelines for a given industry, it is even more important that Professional obligations As of January 1, 2004, the NFDA’s enforceable Code of Professional Conduct took effect. This code outlines ethical and professional practices to which NFDA-member funeral homes must abide. These standards raise the bar for member funeral directors by ensuring the highest-quality professional practices and also allow consumers to file a complaint with the NFDA if a funeral professional does not adhere to these standards. The Code of Professional Conduct addresses the obligations of the funeral professional in five key areas:
● Services to the Family. ● Care of the Decedent. ● Obligations to the Public. ● Responsibilities to the Government. ● Obligations to the NFDA. Services to Families
Ethical principle : Members have an ethical obligation to serve each family in a professional and caring manner, being respectful of their wishes and confidences, being honest and fair in all dealings with them, and being considerate of those of lesser means. ● Members shall provide funeral services to families without regard to religion, race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, or disability.
Book Code: FTX1624
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