Yes, they should have named the other companies that conceal this practice from their employees. The author’s failure to name them doesn’t make it ethical to take out insurance policies on people without their knowledge or consent.
Most people would probably consent to the insurance policy. But it is still unethical to take out a policy on someone’s life without their consent. It is even more unethical to conceal the policy from them.
I agree it would be unethical to do it without consent, but according to the article and at least one WM employee on this thread the employees are/were told and did have to consent to it.
What bothers me here is that although the article states that at least 25% of Fortune 500 companies engage in this practice, the article and many people on this thread just automatically pile on WalMart.