Chapter 10

Employee Rights
and
Responsibilities
 Learning Objectives
Define employment-at-will and discuss how
wrongful discharge, just cause, and due
process are interrelated
Identify employee rights associated with free
speech and access to employee records
Discuss issues associated with workplace
monitoring, employer investigations, and drug
testing

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 Learning Objectives
List elements to consider when developing an
employee handbook
Understand the use of employee discipline in
companies and differentiate between the
positive and progressive approaches to
discipline
Outline the issues and procedures related to
employee discharge and termination

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 Employee Rights and Responsibilities
Rights: Power, privileges or interests derived
from law, nature, or tradition
Statutory rights: Based on specific laws or
statutes passed by federal, state, or local
governments
Equal employment opportunity
Collective bargaining
Workplace safety
Responsibilities: Obligations to perform
certain tasks and duties
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 Contractual Rights
Rights based on a specific contract between
employer and employee

Employment An agreement that formally outlines the

Contract details of employment

Noncompete Prohibit individuals who leave an organization

from working with an employer in the same
Agreements line of business for a specified period of time

Right to keep trade secrets confidential and

Protection of to have employees bring business
Intellectual opportunities to the employer first
Property Common-law copyright for works prepared
by employees for their employees
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 Provisions in Employment Contracts

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 Noncompete Agreements

Employment
Contract Clauses

Nonpiracy Nonsolicitation of Intellectual property

agreements current employees and trade secrets

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 Implied Contracts
Unwritten contract between individuals
and their employers
Affects employment relationship
Rights and responsibilities of the employee
may exist only as unwritten employer
expectations about what is acceptable
behavior or performance

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 Rights Affecting the Employment Relationship

Employment-at-Will (EAW)

Wrongful and Constructive

Discharge

The
Just Cause Employment
Relationship

Due Process

Distributive and Procedural

Justice

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 Employment-at-Will (EAW)

Employers Employees

Have the right to hire, Have the right to quit and

fire, demote, or promote get another job under the
as they choose, unless same constraints.
there is a law or contract
to the contrary.

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 EAW and the Courts

Rationales for Hearing

EAW Cases

Good-faith
Implied
Public Policy and Fair-
Contract
Exception Dealing
Exception
Exception

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 Employment-at-Will Restrictions

Wrongful Discharge
Termination of an individual’s employment for
reasons that are improper or illegal

Constructive Discharge
An employer deliberately makes working
conditions intolerable for an employee in an
attempt to get (to force) that employee to
resign or quit

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 Keys for Preparing a Defense against
Wrongful Discharge

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 Employment-at-Will: Fairness
Just cause: Reasonable justification for taking
an employment-related action
Due process: Requirement that the employer
use a fair process to determine employee
wrongdoing
Allows employees to explain and defend their
actions against charges or discipline

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 Criteria for Evaluating Just Cause and
Due Process

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 Organizational Justice
Distributive Justice
Perceived fairness in the distribution of outcomes

Procedural Justice
Perceived fairness of the process used to make
decision about employees

Interactional Justice
Perceived fairness about how a person interacts
with others

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 Open Door Policy
Anyone with a complaint can talk with a
manager, an HR representative, or an
executive
Probability of being mishandled
Nonunion firms benefit from having formal
complaint procedures that are well-defined

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 Work-Related Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR)

Alternative Dispute
Resolution Methods

Arbitration Peer Review Panels Ombuds

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 Work-Related Alternative Dispute
Resolution
Arbitration: Using a neutral third party to make a
decision
Compulsory arbitration
All disputes will be submitted to arbitration
Employees waive their rights to pursue legal action until
the completion of the arbitration process

Peer review panels - Advantages

Reduces lawsuits
Provision of due process
Lower costs
Management and employee development

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 Work-Related Alternative Dispute
Resolution
Ombuds
Individuals outside the normal chain of command,
acting as problem solvers for both management and
employees

Mediation
Tool for developing appropriate and fair outcomes
for all parties involved
Helps settle disputes and figures out how employees
can more effectively interact with each other on the
job

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 Right to Privacy
An individual’s freedom from
unauthorized and unreasonable intrusion
into personal affairs
Change in nature of privacy issues at work
place due to:
Internet communications
Specialized computers
Telecommunications systems

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 Privacy Rights and Employee
Records

Employee Medical Records

Recordkeeping and retention practices are affected
by provisions of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Security of Employee Records

Protect the privacy of employees
Protect employers from potential liability for improper
disclosure of personal information

Electronic Records

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 Employee Record Files

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 Employees’ Free Speech Rights
Employee Advocacy of Controversial Views
Handling concerns
Attempt informal resolution first
Outline the boundaries and standards for
appropriate behavior in a formalized policy that
addresses work expectations
Signed nondisclosure privacy agreement

Whistle-Blowing and Employee Protection

• Whistle-blowers: Individuals who report real or
perceived wrongs committed by their employers

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 Technology and Employer/Employee
Issues

Monitoring Electronic Communications

Helps with the following challenges:

Tendency to communicate more casually in e-
mails can lead to inappropriate communication
Forwarding unprofessional content

HR Policies on Electronic Communications

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 Recommended Employer Actions
Regarding Electronic Communications

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 Employee Rights and Personal
Behavior

Reviewing Unusual Behavior

Dress and Body Appearance Limitations

Placing legitimate job-related limits on an
employee’s personal at-work appearance

Off-Duty Behavior
Discipline an employee if his/her off-the-job
behavior puts the company in legal or financial
jeopardy

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 Workplace Monitoring

Conducting Video Surveillance at Work

Ensures employee security
Requires employers to be careful so that
employer rights and employee privacy do not
collide

Monitoring Employee Performance

Signed employee consent form stating that
performance will be monitored regularly

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 Conducting Work-Related
Investigations - Best Practices
Develop a good working plan to respond in times of
crises
Give high priority to confidentiality throughout investigations
All important incidents should be properly documented

Specify whether HR or another party will conduct the

actual investigation

Investigate problems quickly before evidence can be

tampered with

Credibility of individuals providing information in an

investigation must be assessed

Use the stories and information collected to identify a

conclusion to the investigation
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 Honesty and Polygraph Tests
Employee Polygraph Protection Act
Prohibits the use of polygraphs for most pre-
employment screening
Requires that employees must:
Be advised of their rights to refuse to take a polygraph
exam
Be allowed to stop the exam at any time; and
Not be terminated because they refuse to take a
polygraph test or solely because of the exam results

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 HR Policies, Procedures, and Rules

Policies Procedures Rules

General guidelines that Customary methods of Specific guidelines that
focus organizational handling activities regulate and restrict the
actions. behavior of individuals.
“Why we do it” “How we do it” “The limits on what
we do”

Employee Rights

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 Typical Division of HR Responsibilities: Policies,
Procedures, and Rules

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 Employee Handbooks
At-will
Prerogatives

Hours worked Harassment

Policies in
Handbooks

Electronic
Discipline
communication

Pay/benefits

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 Employee Handbooks
Legal Review of Language
Eliminate controversial phrases in wording
Use disclaimers disavowing handbook as a contract
Keep handbook content current

Readability
Adjust reading level of handbook for intended audience
of employees

Use
Communicate and discuss handbook
Notify all employees of changes in the handbook
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 Communicating HR Information

Downward communication
Flows from top management to the rest of the
organization
Informs employees about expectations and goals
of top management
Upward communication
Enables managers to learn about the ideas,
concerns, and information needs of employees

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 Employee Discipline
Discipline: A form of training that enforces
organizational rules
Effective discipline
Focuses on problem behaviors, not at the
employees personally
Supports distributive and procedural justice in the
organizations
Relies on supervisors and manager who are
properly trained on when and how to use discipline

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 Employee Discipline
Organizational
culture of
avoiding discipline

Fear of Lack of support by

lawsuits higher management

Avoidance of Guilt about

time loss past behavior

Fear of loss of
friendship

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 Positive Discipline Approach
Counseling

Written Documentation

Final Warning

Discharge

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 Progressive Discipline Process

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 Discharge and Termination
Discharge: When an employee is removed
from a job at an employer

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 THANK YOU

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