Chapter 4

Employer & Employee

Rights

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 10/e, DeCenzo/Robbins Chapter 4, slide 1

Current Issues in Employee Rights

Employee Monitoring and

Workplace Security
Company interests are protected against

 theft
 revealing of trade secrets to competitors
 using the customer database for personal gain
 lost productivity

HRM policies must be clear on monitoring

 e-mail
 the Internet
 phone

How to balance security with employees’ rights?

That is the question!

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 10/e, DeCenzo/Robbins Chapter 4, slide 2

Current Issues in Employee Rights

Employee Monitoring and

Workplace Security
Monitoring could extend to cyber places such as:

See “Twitter with Care” from SHRM

http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/technolo
gy/Articles/Pages/TwitterCarefully.aspx

Technology has blurred the line between public and private.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 10/e, DeCenzo/Robbins Chapter 4, slide 3

Current Issues Regarding Employee Rights

• Whistle-blowing
– occurs when an employee reports about his/her
employer to an outside agency over what the
employee believes is an illegal or unethical
practice, after all the efforts to convince the
management to rectify fail.
– Sarbanes-Oxley Act protects employees from
retaliation for reporting company wrongdoing.
– Laws protecting whistle-blowers vary by state.
– Many firms have voluntarily adopted policies to
protect employees who identify problems.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 Current Issues Regarding Employee Rights

• Workplace Romance
– Some companies try to prevent
relationships between employees because
of potential discrimination or sexual
harassment issues
– Others view romance as having a positive
effect.
– Many companies have issued policies and
guidelines on how relationships at work
may exist, to avoid conflict of interest.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

The Employment-at-Will Doctrine

• The doctrine, based on common law, allows

employers to dismiss employees at any time for
any reason.
• Has been modified to prohibit termination based
on race, religion, sex, national origin, age, or
disability.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

The Employment-at-Will Doctrine

• Exceptions to the Doctrine:

– Contractual relationship: A legal
agreement exists defining how
employee issues are handled.
– Public policy violation: Employees
cannot be fired for disobeying an
illegal order from the employer
– Breach of good faith: An employer
breaches a promise or abuses its
managerial powers.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

Using Employee Communications to Enhance
Employee Rights

• Complaint / Grievance Procedures

– Step 1: Employee-supervisor/ immediate
boss
– Step 2: Employee-employer relations/HRM
– Step 3: Employee-department head
– Step 4: Employee-president / CEO

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

Discipline and Employee Rights

Discipline

A condition where employees conduct themselves in

accordance with the organization’s rules and norms or
standards of acceptable behavior.

In case of any break of discipline , and before taking any step,

HR managers should first consider:

 seriousness of the problem

 duration/frequency, and nature of the problem (first or repeating offence)
 extenuating/external factors causing the undisciplined behavior
 degree of awareness / if employee was informed about organization rules
 Level of organization’s disciplinary practices
 management backing / support from superior

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 10/e, DeCenzo/Robbins Chapter 4, slide 9

Discipline and Employee Rights

The most frequent violations requiring

disciplinary action

attendance

dishonesty Job behaviors

outside
activities

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 10/e, DeCenzo/Robbins Chapter 4, slide 10

 Discipline and Employee Rights
Disciplinary Action Guidelines

Once decided, management should follow these guidelines:

1.Make disciplinary action corrective rather than punitive

2. Use a progressive approach (verbal warning, written warning,

suspension, dismissal) + salary deduction, delaying promotion, fines

3.Follow the Hot-Stove rule:

a. give an immediate response (without delay)
b. give ample/sufficient warning (rules should be clear & open)
c. be consistent (as always)
d. be impersonal (consider the issue, not the person)

4. Accused must be allowed to defend the self (legally & morally

required)

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 10/e, DeCenzo/Robbins Chapter 4, slide 11

Discipline and Employee Rights

Progressive Approach of Disciplinary Actions

verbal warning (keep a written record of this warning)

written warning

suspension (for inquiry)

dismissal

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 10/e, DeCenzo/Robbins Chapter 4, slide 12