Employee Rights and ResponsibilityEmployee Rights and Responsibility

Presented By:Jennifer StiggersShaNitra Gray-DentCatherine Hutcherson

Employee Rights and Responsibilities• Rights: Powers,

privileges, or interests that belong to a person by law, nature, or tradition.

• Responsibilities: Obligations to perform certain tasks and duties.

• ExampleExample: If an employee has the right to a safe working environment, then the employer must have an obligation to provide a safe workplace.

Types of Employee Rights

Statutory RightsBased on laws or statutes

passed by federal, state, or local government.

Contractual RightsRights based on a specific

Contract between an Employer and

employee.

Employee Rights and Responsibilities• Employment

contracts -formally outline the details of employment.

• These contracts may also specify whether the employment relationship is for a indeterminate time, or automatically renewed after a certain time.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqahQ4clgw8

Employee Rights and Responsibilities

• Non-Compete Agreement- prohibits individuals who leave an organization from competing with an employer in the same line of business for a specified period of time.• In 1996 federal law made the theft of intellectual property

and trade secrets a federal crime punishable by fines up to $5 million and 15 years in jail. Consequently this is a topic

often covered in employment contracts.

Rights Affecting The Employment Relationship

• Employment-at-Will- a common law doctrine stating that employers have the right to hire, fire, demote, or promote whomever they choose, unless there is a

law or a contract to the contrary. • Employees have the right to quit and get another job under

the same terms.

• Exceptions to Employment-at-will• Public Policy Exceptions• Implied Contract Exception• Good–Faith Dealing Exception

Rights Affecting The Employment Relationship• Wrongful Discharge- termination of an individual’s employment

for reasons that are illegal or improper.

• Case Study: Fortune vs. National Cash Register Company • page 494

• Constructive Discharge- Process of deliberately making conditions intolerable to get an employee to quit.

• Intolerable working conditions• Dangerous duties• Demeaning assignments• Failure to provide work to do • Conditions under which a “reasonable employee” would quit

Rights Affecting The Employment Relationship

• Just Cause- Reasonable justification for taking employment-related action.

• Due Process- the requirement that the employer use a fair process to determine employee wrongdoing and that the employee have an opportunity to explain and defend his or her actions. • Distributive justice- perceived fairness in the distribution of

outcomes• Procedural justice- perceived fairness of the processes used

to make decisions about employees.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

ArbitrationPeer Review

PanelsOmbuds

Alternative Dispute

Resolution Methods

Alternative Dispute Resolution• Arbitration – uses a third party to make a decision.

• There are a number of reasons why employers might favor arbitration:

• reduced litigation costs • limited ability to appeal • faster results • greater privacy

• Peer Review Panels- use fellow employees and a few managers to resolve employment disputes.• There are a number of reasons why employers might favor

peer review panels: • Fewer lawsuits• Lower cost• Management and employee development

• Ombuds- individuals outside the normal chain of command that act as problem solvers for management and employees.

Individual Employee Rights Issues• Free Speech Rights- protected by the U.S.

Constitution, but is restricted in the workplace. • Whistle-Blowing- individuals who report real or perceived

wrongs committed by their employers. • Sarbanes-Oxley- Most of the act focuses on financial

reporting and internal control requirements for publicly traded companies, but Congress also included provisions to protect insiders who report questionable accounting practices.

• Privacy Rights and Employee Records• Employee Medical Records- regulated by the Americans

with Disabilities Act. • Security of Employee Records- employers are required to

keep personnel records up to date and keep only the details that are needed.

Individual Employee Rights Issues

• Employee Rights and Personal Behavior

• Employment Practices Liability Insurance- covers employer costs for legal fees, settlements, and judgments associated with employment actions.

Body Appearance

An employer can place legitimate job-related

limits on an employee’s personal at-work

appearance such as tattoos and body

piercings.

Off-Duty Behavior

An employer can discipline an employee if

the employee’s off-the-job behavior puts the

company in legal or financial jeopardy.

Balancing Employer Security and Employee Rights

• Rights to Privacy- An individual’s freedom from unauthorized and unreasonable intrusion into personal affairs.

Workplace Monitoring

Tracking Internet Use

Monitoring Employee Performance

Conducting Video Surveillance

Monitoring of E-Mail and Voice Mail

Balancing Employer Security and Employee Rights

• Employer Investigation• Employee Theft• Honesty and Polygraph Test• Reviewing Unusual Behavior• Conducting Work-Related Investigations

Balancing Employer Security and Employee Rights

• Substance Abuse and Drug Testing• Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 - The federal Drug-Free

Workplace Act applies to federal contractors whose organizations have contracts of $100,000 or more. It also applies to all organizations that are federal grantees and all individuals who receive a contract or grant from the federal government

• Drug Testing and Employee Rights- unless state or local law prohibits testing, employers have a right to require applicants or employees to submit to a drug test.

HR Policies, Procedures, and Rules

• Responsibilities for HR policies, procedures, and rules• Policies: general

guidelines that focus organizational actions.

• Procedures: customary methods of handling activities.

• Rules: specific guidelines that regulate and restrict the behavior of individuals.

• Employee Handbooks• Communicating HR

Informationhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=duB3QCZWkgQ&feature=channel_page

Employee Discipline• http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=62B99Nlnanw&feature=PlayList&p=51562A1A658AE860&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2

Positive Discipline

1. Counseling2. Written Documentation3. Final Warning (decision

day-off)4. Discharge

Progressive Discipline

1. Verbal Caution2. Written Reprimand3. Suspension4. Discharge

Approaches to Discipline

Employee Discipline

• Reasons why discipline may not be used:

• Discharge- final step in disciplinary process.• Review evidence• Select a neutral location• Conduct the termination

meeting• Have HR discuss

termination benefits• Escort the employee

from the building• Notify the department

staff

Guilt

Lack of support

Avoidance of time loss

Fear of law suites

Fear of loss of friendships

Organizational culture avoids discipline

Employee Discipline

• Effective Discipline

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbr4y5G-aSw

• Regardless of the disciplinary approach used, training in counseling and in communications skills provides supervisor and managers with the tools necessary to deal with employee performance problems.

• Separation Agreements: • Agreement in which a terminated employee agrees not to

sue the employer in exchange for specified benefits.

References

• HR Heroes• HR Creations• Human Resource Management