Human Resource Management

Lecture 5

MGT 350
 Last Lecture
• What is equal employment opportunity?
• Determining Potential Discriminatory Practices
– The 4/5ths Rule
– Restricted Policy
– Geographical Comparisons
– McDonnell-Douglas Test
• Three defenses:
– Business necessity
– Bona Fide occupations qualifications
– Seniority System
• Comparable worth
• Glass ceiling
 Topic

Employee Rights and HR Communications

 Introduction

• Employee rights have become one of the

more important human resource issues.

• The laws have increasingly constrained

employer ‘s actions related to employee
rights.
 Employee Rights
• Basic rights of employees.
– Sick Leave
– Public holiday
– Weekly holiday
– Minimum wage
Employment Rights Legislation and Its
HRM Implications
• The Drug-Free Workplace
– It is Important for the organization to provide a
drug free environment.

– Covered organizations
• must establish and disseminate policies
• provide substance-abuse awareness programs
Employment Rights Legislation and Its
HRM Implications
• Drug-free policies must include:
– What is expected of employees
– Penalties for infractions of policies
– Substance abuse awareness programs
– Disseminated to all employees
Current Issues Regarding Employee
Rights
• Drug Testing
– The severity of substance abuse in
organizations has led to use of drug
testing.
– Drug testing of current employees typically:
• Offers rehabilitation to those who fail
• Communicates that drugs will not be tolerated
 Current Issues Regarding Employee
Rights

• Drug Testing
– Should be done after a job offer is made.
– Those who fail are generally no longer
considered.
• Communicating clear policies and procedures
Current Issues Regarding Employee
Rights
• Honesty Tests
– Written tests to get applicants to
reveal information about their
integrity.
– Used to predict theft and drug use
– Multiple questions on the same topic
to assess consistency of responses.
– Should not be used as the sole
criterion for a hiring decision.
Current Issues Regarding Employee
Rights
• Whistle-blowing

– occurs when an employee reports his/her

employer to an outside agency over what the
employee believes is an illegal or unethical
practice.

– Many firms have voluntarily adopted policies to

protect employees who identify problems.
 Current Issues Regarding Employee
Rights
• Employee Monitoring and Workplace
Security

• Theft
• Revealing of trade secrets to competitors
• Using the customer database for personal gain
Current Issues Regarding Employee
Rights
• Employee Monitoring and
Workplace Security
– Must balance these security
needs with employee rights.
– Develop and communicate
policies for monitoring
• computer
• e-mail
• telephone
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.
 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.
 Discipline and Employee Rights
Discipline

• A system of rules of conduct or method of practice.

• The trait of being well behaved.

– A condition where employees conduct

themselves in accordance with the
organization’s rules and standards of
acceptable behavior.
 Discipline and Employee Rights

• The most frequent violations requiring

disciplinary action involve:
– Attendance
– On-the-job behaviors
– Dishonesty
– Outside activities
 Discipline and Employee Rights

• Disciplinary Guidelines
– Make disciplinary action corrective rather
than punitive.
– Make disciplinary action progressive; i.e.
verbal warning, written warning,
suspension, dismissal.
 Discipline and Employee Rights
• Disciplinary Actions
– Written verbal warning
– Written warning
– Suspension
– Dismissal

Less Severe More Severe

Verbal Written Suspension Dismissal
Warning Warning
 Discipline and Employee Rights
• Disciplinary Guidelines
The stove is red so be careful.
Warning is issued so no chance of another violation.
Follow the Hot-stove rule; i.e. immediate
response; ample warning.
 Employee Counseling

• Direction or helpful suggestions regarding a decision or

future course of action.

• This approach is most appropriate when a performance

problem is not amenable to training and development or
mentoring and coaching.
 Employee Counseling
• Listen to the employee to uncover the
reason for poor performance.
• Focus on performance-related behaviors
• Get the employee to accept the problem,
and work to find solutions.
• Managers are not expected to solve
employee’s personal problems
• Employee Assistance Program
 Using Employee Communications to
Enhance Employee Rights

• Why Use an Employee Handbook?

– Helps employees learn about the company
– Provides central information source
concerning policies, work rules and benefits.
– Helps ensure that HRM policies will be fair,
equitable, and consistently applied.
Using Employee Communications to
Enhance Employee Rights

• Why Use an Employee Handbook?

– Creates sense of security and
commitment
– Can be used to provide information
to new employees.
– Must be seen as useful, concise,
well-organized and must be
continually updated.
 Using Employee Communications to
Enhance Employee Rights
• Using Information Technology for
Employee Communications
– Provides greater flexibility and timeliness of
information.
– Networked communication - e-mail, instant
messaging, voice intranets and extranets, and
the talking Internet.
– Wireless communications - microwave
signals, satellites, radio waves, radio
antennas, and infrared light rays
 Using Employee Communications to
Enhance Employee Rights

Complaint Procedures
– Step 1: Employee-supervisor
– Step 2: Employee-employer relations
– Step 3: Employee-department head
– Step 4: Employee-president
 Using Employee Communications to
Enhance Employee Rights
• Why Companies Support Suggestion
Programs
– Allow employees to tell management what
they perceive they are doing right or wrong
– Connected to other management systems,
such as continuous improvement
processes
– Suggestions must be acknowledged and
employees recognized for their efforts
 Summary
• Basic rights of employees
• Honesty/Drug Tests
• Whistle-blowing
• Employee Monitoring and Workplace Security
• Theft
• Revealing of trade secrets to competitors
• Using the customer database for personal gain

• Workplace Romance
• The Employment-at-Will Doctrine
 Summary
• Discipline
• Factors to consider when disciplining
• The most frequent violations requiring disciplinary action involve
– Attendance
– On-the-job behaviors
– Dishonesty
– Outside activities
Make disciplinary action progressive; i.e. verbal warning, written warning,
suspension, dismissal.
Hot-stove rule; i.e. immediate response; ample warning.
Employee Counseling.
Why Use an Employee Handbook?
Complaint Procedures