Explain the concepts of employee rights and employer
responsibilities.
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS AND DISCIPLINE
As employees acquire secure employment they may then seek to obtain various rights that
enhance their employment stature. As employee rights are gained in one area, other employee
rights emerge to become topics of employee-management concern. Often the claim for
employee rights means that employers must assume new responsibilities for a safe and efficient
workplace—a workplace where employees can work with feelings of protection, security, and
self-worth.
Inevitably, in any employment relationship, problems that require corrective action will
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LECTURE OUTLINE
I. EMPLOYEE RIGHTS AND PRIVACY
Over many years, employees have acquired many employment guarantees in areas such as
discrimination, safety and health, and wage and hour protection. Currently, employee
A. Employee Rights vs. Employer Responsibilities
• While employees might believe they have various employment rights, such as
freedom from drug testing or e-mail privacy, employers have a responsibility to
Identify and explain what the privacy rights of employees are.
Discuss the meaning of discipline and why managers cannot ignore
disciplinary problems.
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• Hold a class discussion on employee rights and employer responsibilities.
B. Negligent Hiring
• In the HR field, negligence is the failure of the employer to use a reasonable
amount of care where such failure results in injury to another person. Employers
C. Job Protection Rights
• Employment protection rights involve the considerations regarding the security of
one’s job. Employees believe that the job should be the property right of the
employee and that employees should not be deprived of their jobs without due
process. The job as a property right does not guarantee employees a lifelong job.
It does, however, require the employer to act fairly toward employees.
1. Employment at Will
• One of the current important issues in HRM is the challenge to the
employment-at-will doctrine. Make sure students fully understand this
principle and its effect on supervisors and employment in discharge cases.
Chapter 13: Employee Rights and Discipline 173
• In today’s litigious environment, employers may have reservations about
terminating even marginal employees. This “fear of firing” requires managers
to prove that an employee’s conduct or action warrants termination.
2. Wrongful Discharge
• Wrongful discharge suits are filed by employees when they believe they were
fired for improper reasons. Wrongful discharge suits are normally filed as
exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine.
with students.
3. Whistle-Blowing
• Whistle-blowing is a protected right of employees. Whistle-blowing occurs
when employees report to government agencies the illegal acts of their
employers.
4. Implied Contract
• Professional athletes, college professors, and some professional employees
work under the benefits of an employment contract. This, however, is not true
for the vast majority of employees. Employees normally work under the
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implied promises of employment benefits such as job security, benefits, and/or
other employment conditions.
5. Explicit Contracts
• Explicit contracts are popular with executives, senior managers, and
professional employees with particular technical skills or abilities. Explicit
6. Constructive Discharge
• Constructive discharge lawsuits are a growing area of concern for employers.
7. Discharge as a Result of Retaliation
• Employers must not retaliate against employees when they exercise their
employment rights under various laws. Employers must maintain a “hands–
8. Discharges and the WARN Act
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that millions of jobs have been lost
because of plant closings or permanent layoffs. Large employment layoffs
affect not only the employees themselves but also the communities in which
they live.
Chapter 13: Employee Rights and Discipline 175
• Several states and local jurisdictions have passed legislation restricting
D. Privacy Rights
• Privacy rights largely involve the individual’s right to be left alone and free from
unwanted intrusion into personal affairs.
1. Substance Abuse and Drug Testing
• Drug abuse by employees is extremely expensive, costing employers an
estimated $75 billion each year in employment-related costs.
• The U.S. Labor Department reports that three-fourths of adults who use illegal
drugs are employed.
• Ask students if they have been required to submit to a drug test by their
employer. Determine the reasons for the test and the procedure by which
the test was administered.
a. Safety-Sensitive Jobs—Organizations with employees in “safety–
sensitive jobs” are the most extensive users of drug tests. Employees in
sensitive positions include those in security positions, those working in the
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b. Criticisms of Drug Testing—In Chapter 6, we explained that some recent
studies have failed to show that drug testing makes the workplace safer
and that alcohol appears to create more problems than drugs.43 Another
criticism of drug tests, including urinalysis and hair tests, is that they do
not reveal if a person is currently under the influence of a drug. Illegal
substances remain in urine for various periods of time: cocaine for
2. Impairment Testing—An alternative to drug testing is to evaluate an employee’s
suitability for work through impairment testing. Also called fitness-for-duty or
performance-based testing, impairment testing measures whether an employee is
alert enough to work.
E. Electronic Surveillance
• When employers have a legitimate business concern, such as theft, sabotage, or
other illegal acts, they possess the legal right to watch their employees through
various surveillance techniques. This is not a violation of an employees privacy
rights.
Chapter 13: Employee Rights and Discipline 177
1. Camera Surveillance
• Few federal laws protect workers from being watched.
2. Phone Conversations and Text Communications
• In general, employers have the right to monitor calls and text messages sent
3. E-Mail, Internet, and Computer Use
• With the proliferation of computers at the workplace, millions of
employees may be subject to electronic monitoring, through computers, by
4. Searches
• Employee sabotage, theft, and other illegal acts cost employers millions of
5. Access to Personnel Files
• An employee’s personnel file contains sensitive information—salary history,
performance appraisals, credit checks, and so on—that can positively or
negatively affect his or her career. Employers have an obligation to keep the
records of their employees confidential.
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• The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that an employee’s medical
history be kept in a file separate from other personnel information.
6. Off-Duty Employee Conduct
• It is generally accepted that an employee’s off-duty conduct is not subject to
managerial review or disciplinary action. There is a growing body of law to
7. Off-Duty Employee Speech
8. Workplace Romances
• Assign Case Study 1: Discharged for Off-Duty Behavior at the end of the
chapter in the textbook.
Chapter 13: Employee Rights and Discipline 179
9. Body Art, Grooming, and Attire—Body art is a popular form of employee self
expression. However, body art can raise issues among customers and work
against corporate culture. Employees are permitted to establish reasonable
standards of grooming, attire, and body art. Companies will set their own
individualized standards in these areas.
II. DISCIPLINARY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
• As with other HR areas, employee discipline must be guided by objective and
consistent policies and procedures.
A. The Results of Inaction
• Ask students to discuss the different reasons that supervisors are reluctant to
discipline employees.
B. Setting Organizational Rules
• The textbook discusses seven points to be used for ensuring that rules have
been effectively communicated to employees. These seven points are very
important and should be reviewed with students.
C. Investigating a Disciplinary Problem
• Figure 13.8 lists seven questions to consider when investigating an employee
offense. Attending to each question will help ensure a full and fair investigation
while providing reliable information free from personal prejudice.
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1. Documenting Misconduct
• A manager’s records of employee misconduct are considered business
documents, and as such they are admissible evidence in arbitration hearings,
administrative proceedings, and courts of law.
• The documentation need not be lengthy, but to be complete it should include
the following eight items:
1. The date, time, and location of the incident(s)
• Ask students what constitutes good documentation and write these points on
the board. Then review the eight points for complete documentation given in
2. The Investigative Interview
• Before disciplining an employee, that individual must be given an
opportunity to explain her or his side of the story. This is often referred to as
“employee due process.” Due process is achieved during the investigative
interview, when all important facts of the case come forth.