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Chapter 17
Employee Rights: Working Toward Mutual Respect
JUMP START
During the 20th century, the government began taking an active role in regulating the workplace in
the areas of employment discrimination; fair labor standards; the right to bargain collectively over
wages, hours, and working conditions; employee safety; employee benefits; and employee rights.
The purpose of this chapter is to educate students about their rights at work and what to do if
these rights are violated. This chapter also emphasizes that miscellaneous employee rights differ
from those afforded off the job. Only when students are aware of these issues can they take
appropriate actions to solve problems in the workplace.
Answers to Jump Start Questions
Answers will vary. Help students realize that it costs money to support government agencies that
monitor unscrupulous businesses and that these costs are born by taxpayers. Additionally,
companies spend large sums attempting to comply with governmental regulations, which, in turn,
increase the costs of goods and services. Finally, remind students that the laws discussed in this
chapter were passed in the first place because some businesses were unethical, producing shoddy
goods and services, and allowing their employees to work in unsafe environments.
CHAPTER PREVIEW
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
17.1 Identify and discuss federal employment laws concerning discrimination, fair wages, and
family and medical leave.
17.2 Understand the origins of the labor movement and what federal rights workers have to
organize.
17.3 Explain how OSHA protects employees from safety and health hazards.
17.4 Name benefits available to employees and distinguish between those that are required and
those that are optional.
17.5 Identify and discuss other employee rights at work.
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
I. Federal Laws Protecting Workers (T.M 17.1)
A. Employment Discrimination
1. Title VII
2. Pregnancy Discrimination
3.Sexual Harassment
4. Equal Pay
5. Age Discrimination
6. Disability Discrimination
7. Genetic Information Non-Discrimination
B. In the News
C. Responding to discrimination
1. Trends in Employment Opportunity
Chapter 17 Employee Rights: Working Toward Mutual Respect 1
E. Fair Labor Standards
1. Fair Labor Standards Act
G. Family Medical Leave
H. Ask Yourself
(Application 2—Equal and Fair Are Two Different Things)
(Supplementary Exercise 17.1)
(Supplementary Exercise 17.2)
II. Workers’ Right to Organize
A. Working safely
B. Future Health and Safety Issues
C. Ask Yourself
III. Regulating Safety and Health
A. Occupational Safety and Health Act
B. Employee Responsibility Concerning Safety and Health
C. Future Health and Safety Issues
D. Ask Yourself
IV. Benefits Available to Employees
A. Federally Mandated Benefits
1. Social Security
2. Job Loss Compensation
B. Ethics Connection
1. Compensation for Injury on the Job
C. Benefits Employers Voluntarily Offer
1. The Future of Benefits
D. Ask Yourself
(Supplementary Exercise 17.3)
V. Other Employee Rights
A. Employment at Will
B. Proof of Eligibility to Work
C. Freedom of Speech
D. Employment and Military Service
E. Defamation of Character
F. Smokers’ Rights
G. Medical Benefits
H. Global Connection
I. Personnel Files
J. Drugs on Personal Time
K. Employer Search of the Work Area
L. Polygraphs
M. Plant Closings
N. Dress Codes
O. Blowing the Whistle on Illegal Activities
P. Technology Connection
Q. Electronic Surveillance of Employees
R. E-mail Privacy
S. Future Rights
T. Ask Yourself
(Supplementary Exercise 17.4)
(Supplementary Exercise 17.5)
(Application 1—It’s Your Thing: Do What You Want To Do?)
(Chapter Project)
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17.1 Federal Laws Protecting Workers
Local, state, and federal laws regulate aspects of employment. These regulations cover
employment discrimination, family and medical leave, fair labor standards, employee safety and
health, employee benefits, and miscellaneous employee rights. Individuals should understand
what their rights are, and organizations need to be aware of, and respect, employee rights. Use
T.M. 17.1 to identify key legislation that will be discussed in the chapter.
Answers to In the News
Supplementary Exercise 17.1
Invite local representatives from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or the Department of Labor to speak to your
class about their respective agencies.
Supplementary Exercise 17.2
Have students choose a physical disability—loss of hearing, loss of sight, use of a wheelchair,
loss of a limb, etc.—and imagine what it would be like to carry on their regular activities for a
day with these disabilities. Use their experiences to open a discussion on discrimination of people
with the disabilities. Present the following questions:
1. How do you view people with disabilities? Do you see someone with a physical handicap as
mentally incapable?
2. What adjustments will you personally have to make to accept coworkers who have
disabilities?
3. What changes do companies have to make to accommodate employees with disabilities?
What changes would be necessary in your environment to allow you to carry on your regular
activities if you had a disability?
Answers to Ask Yourself
17.2 Workers’ Right to Organize
Prior to the 1930s, during the beginning of the Industrial Era, factory sweatshops exploited
workers with long hours, unsafe working conditions, low wages, and child labor. Attempts by
employees to unionize were strongly resisted by management. Because of these abuses, several
key pieces of congressional legislation were enacted to help lay the framework for the labor
movement and unionization rights of workers. These actions are fully described in this section
and include the Wagner Act and the Taft-Hartley Act. Right-to-work laws are also presented in
the text along with a national map indicating which states abide by this condition.
Answers to In the News
1. Answers will vary. Ask students who work in nonunionized environments whether they feel
Chapter 17 Employee Rights: Working Toward Mutual Respect 3
Answers to Ask Yourself:
1. Answers will vary. Conditions prior to 1930 were deplorable. Students should discuss their
opinions on how factory sweatshops, excessively long hours, unsafe work conditions, low
17.3 Regulating Safety and Health
The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970 was passed to provide every working
man and woman in the United States safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our
human resources. OSHA is a federal agency established to ensure the nation’s employees are
protected. Then, OSHA passed a regulation known as Hazard Communication Standard (HCS),
which requires that companies give employees access to certain information about the physical
and health hazards, such as chemical substances, that are produced, imported, or used in the
workplace. In addition, OSHA also gives employees rights under the law.
Answers to Ask Yourself
1. Answers will vary. Students may name rushing/deadline pressure, lack of knowledge about
17.4 Benefits Available to Employees
The Social Security Act was passed in 1935 and has been amended many times. It now offers
benefits that include retirement insurance, survivor’s insurance, disability insurance, and
Medicare. This act also sets standards such as who may draw these benefits. Unemployment
compensation was created to assist those who became unemployed until they could find another
job, but it does not include those who voluntarily quit or who are discharged due to misconduct.
Workers’ compensation is a system that compensates individuals who have been physically or
mentally injured on their jobs, or who have developed an occupational disease.
Employers offer voluntary benefits as a way of attracting and keeping employees.
Supplementary Exercise 17.3
Have students contact several local companies to collect information concerning benefits offered
by the firms. The students can present their finding either in oral or written form. Have the
students consider the following questions:
Salary and position being equal, for which company would you work?
How important are benefits offered when seeking employment?
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What is the cost of these programs to a company? What might happen if these benefits were
not offered?
Answers to Ethics Connection
1. Answers will vary, but students should realize that drawing compensation while being able to
Answers to Ask Yourself
1. Answers will vary.
17.5 Other Employee Rights
Employment at will means that an employee serves at the discretion of an employer and can be
terminated at any time or for any reason even if the employee is performing well, although some
restrictions have been made by the federal government. The Immigration Reform and Control Act
(IRCA) of 1986 bans employment of unauthorized aliens and requires employers to document the
identity and authorization to work for all new employees. Public employees in general cannot be
terminated for speaking on matters of public concern. But the Hatch Act was passed in 1940,
limiting the political activity of federal civil servants. Defamation is the open publication of a
false statement tending to harm the reputation of a person. Acts have also been established to
provide greater portability of employee health coverage.
Supplementary Exercise 17.4
Divide students into small groups. Have them define rights employees have versus rights private
citizens have in the areas of freedom of speech, search of the work area and personal possessions,
and electronic surveillance. Ask the groups to discuss whether employees should have more or
fewer rights than the private citizen and what rights the employer should have.
Supplementary Exercise 17.5
Call your local bar association and request a labor attorney to speak to your class concerning
employment at will, personnel files, freedom of speech, and other employee rights issues. Ask the
attorney to address specific rights in these areas according to the laws that govern your locale.
Answers to Global Connection
1. Problems can abound. Managers who come from other countries may not be familiar with
Chapter 17 Employee Rights: Working Toward Mutual Respect 5
2. Answers will vary. Standardization would simplify work in a global economy but would be
Answers to Technology Connection
1. Answers will vary. Have students consider the right for employers to know that they are
2. Answers will vary. Employers may feel employees are goofing off, are using the telephone or
3. Answers will vary. In addition, point out that some companies, particularly in the trucking
Answers to Ask Yourself
1. Answers will vary. Any student who has worked or has been supported by those who worked
2. Answers will vary. Point out that good communication skills, particularly listening skills, can
KEY TERMS DEFINITIONS
Discrimination A difference in treatment based on a factor other than individual merit.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Federal agency that regulates employment
discrimination in the workplace.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Federal law that prohibits discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex, or national origin in the workplace; this law also prohibits sexual harassment.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act Federal law that prohibits discrimination against pregnant
women in the workplace.
Sexual harassment Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or verbal or
physical conduct of a sexual nature found in the workplace.
Equal Pay Act Federal law that requires men and women be paid the same salary provided they
perform the same job and have the same experience and education.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act Federal legislation that prohibits discrimination against
individuals age 40 and over in the workplace.
Americans with Disabilities Act Federal law that prohibits discrimination against individuals
who are disabled.
Reasonable accommodations Actions that assist workers with disabilities to perform the
essential function of their jobs without imposing an undue hardship on the company.
Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act prohibits employers from discharging, refusing
to hire, or otherwise discriminating against employees on the basis of genetic information,
Affirmative action A practice originally designed to correct past discriminatory practices against
minorities and women in the workplace by setting goals for hiring and upward mobility.
Fair Labor Standards Act Federal legislation that sets minimum wage, equal pay, overtime, and
child labor standards.
Family Medical Leave Act Federal legislation that provides eligible employees with up to 12
weeks of job-protected family or medical leave.
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Union A group or association of workers who collectively bargain with employers for improved
working conditions and protection from unfair or arbitrary treatment by management.
Norris-LaGuardia Act A federal law enacted in 1932 to abolish the use of yellow-dog contracts
by companies as an anti-union technique.
Wagner Act A federal law enacted in 1935 that ordered management to stop interfering with
union organizing efforts and defined what constituted unfair labor practices; established the right
of employees to form unions and collectively bargain with management on employee issues; and
established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) A government agency responsible for enforcing the
provisions of the Wagner Act, established in 1935.
Taft-Hartley Act A series of amendments to the Wagner Act that imposes controls on unions’
organizing activities and methods used in collective bargaining attempts.
Bargaining unit The group represented by the union; those for whom the union negotiates.
Right-to-Work Law a provision of the Taft-Hartley Act that allows states to prohibit both the
closed and the union shop contract agreements, thereby giving the worker the choice of union
membership.
Occupational Safety and Health Act Federal legislation that sets safety and health standards and
ensures that they are observed in the workplace.
Safety standards address hazards that can result in a direct injury, such as broken bones
and cuts.
Health standards address the role of the work environment in the development of
diseases and illnesses, such as asbestosis and black lung.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Federal agency that regulates safety
and health in the workplace.
Social Security Act Federal legislation that mandates retirement, Medicare, disability, and
survivors’ benefits.
Unemployment compensation Benefits paid to those who have become unemployed
involuntarily.
Workers’ compensation Compensation to those who have been physically or mentally injured
on the job, or who have developed an occupational disease.
Employment at will A philosophy that states the employee serves at the discretion of an
employer and can be terminated at any time and for any reason, even if the employee is
performing well.
I-9 Employment eligibility verification form all new employees are to complete within three days
of hire.
SUGGESTED RESPONSES TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or
national origin. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act prevents an employer from not hiring a
woman because she is pregnant, provided she can perform the job. The Equal Pay Act
Chapter 17 Employee Rights: Working Toward Mutual Respect 7
2. The Fair Labor Standards Act (originally passed in 1938 and amended numerous times),
3. A union is an organization of non management employees. The union may bargain with
4. OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is a federal agency that
5. Federally mandated benefits include payment of Social Security, unemployment
6. On the one hand, employees have the right not to be victims of defamation, and they have the
SUGGESTED RESPONSES TO CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
1. Student answers will vary. Supplementary Exercise 17.5 can be used to facilitate this
2. Student answers will vary. Help students understand how they could have used human
3. Student answers will vary. Emphasize the right of the employer to be free of theft and the
4. Many companies provide benefits such as pension plans, profit sharing, thrift plans,
5. Student answers will vary. Direct the discussion around the need for teens to have a fair wage
6. Student answers will vary. Reinforce the idea that appearances do influence others. Do
7. Student answers will vary. Ask students what alternatives they see to assess quality and
quantity of work without resorting to electronic surveillance.
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CASE STUDIES
Answers to Application 1 Questions (It’s Your Thing: Do What You Want To Do?)
1. Herbert exercised employment at will.
2. Student answers will vary. Point out the disturbance to the workplace and how Dora’s
3. Student answers will vary. Herbert could begin by counseling Dora and explaining what her
4. Other group members might become fearful for their jobs and stop gossiping and concentrate
Answers to Application 2 Questions (Equal and Fair Are Two Different Things)
1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color,
2. Being equal does not necessarily mean treatment is fair or as you would like it to be.
3. Carmelita and Emilio need to realize that they are not specific targets of Elvin’s anger and
4. The type of treatment, as long as it is equal, is not dictated by any governmental regulations.
CHAPTER PROJECT
The following ground rules are suggested for the project:
Students should work together to adopt a position and determine what facts support that
position.
Students should decide who will speak for them. They may use a number of individuals to
speak on different facets of their argument.
A flip of the coin should decide which team goes first.
Confine opening statements to no more than five minutes.
Participants are not to interrupt the other team.
Students should stay civil; no yelling or name-calling.
Exercise should be limited to no more than 15 or 20 minutes.
After the debate, discuss the following:
Chapter 17 Employee Rights: Working Toward Mutual Respect 9
Did anyone change his/her viewpoint after the discussion?
Are there really any right or wrong answers to these statements?
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