Human Resource Management PDF

# Human Resource Management ## Employee Rights and Responsibilities **Chapter 15** **14e** **Learning Objectives** - Define employment-at-will and discuss how wrongful discharge, just cause, and due process are interrelated - Identify employee rights associated with free speech and access to em...

# Human Resource Management ## Employee Rights and Responsibilities **Chapter 15** **14e** **Learning Objectives** - Define employment-at-will and discuss how wrongful discharge, just cause, and due process are interrelated - Identify employee rights associated with free speech and access to employee records - Discuss issues associated with workplace monitoring, employer investigations, and drug testing - List elements to consider when developing an employee handbook - Understand the use of employee discipline in companies and differentiate between the positive and progressive approaches to discipline - Outline the issues and procedures related to employee discharge and termination **Employee Rights and Responsibilities** - **Rights**: Power, privileges or interests derived from law, nature, or tradition - **Statutory rights**: Based on specific laws or statutes passed by federal, state, or local governments - Equal employment opportunity - Collective bargaining - Workplace safety - **Responsibilities**: Obligations to perform certain tasks and duties **Contractual Rights** Rights based on a specific contract between employer and employee | Contract Type | Description | |---|---| | Employment Contract | An agreement that formally outlines the details of employment | | Noncompete Agreements | Prohibit individuals who leave an organization from working with an employer in the same line of business for a specified period of time | | Protection of Intellectual Property | Right to keep trade secrets confidential and to have employees bring business opportunities to the employer first <br/> Common-law copyright for works prepared by employees for their employees | **Figure 15.1 - Provisions in Employment Contracts** | Provisions | |---|---| | **Employment Contract** | | Parties to the contract | | General job duties and expectations | | Compensation and benefits | | Terms and conditions of employment | | Termination/resignation factors | | Noncompete and nonpiracy agreements | | Nonsolicitation of current employees | | Intellectual property and trade secrets | **Noncompete Agreements** | Noncompete Agreements | |---|---| | Employment Contact Clauses | | Nonpiracy agreements | | Nonsolicitation of current employees | | Intellectual property and trade secrets | **Implied Contracts** - Unwritten contract between individuals and their employers - Affects employment relationship - Rights and responsibilities of the employee may exist only as unwritten employer expectations about what is acceptable behavior or performance **Rights Affecting the Employment Relationship** The Employment Relationship is affected by: - Employment-at-Will (EAW) - Wrongful and Constructive Discharge - Just Cause - Due Process - Distributive and Procedural Justice **Employment-at-Will (EAW)** | EAW | |---|---| | Employers | Have the right to hire, fire, demote, or promote as they choose, unless there is a law or contract to the contrary. | | Employees | Have the right to quit and get another job under the same constraints. | **EAW and the Courts** | EAW and the Courts | |---|---| | Rationales for Hearing EAW Cases | | Public Policy Exception | | Implied Contract Exception | | Good-faith and Fair-Dealing Exception | **Employment-at-Will Restrictions** - **Wrongful Discharge**: Termination of an individual's employment for reasons that are improper or illegal - **Constructive Discharge**: An employer deliberately makes working conditions intolerable for an employee in an attempt to get (to force) that employee to resign or quit **Employment-at-Will: Fairness** - **Just cause**: Reasonable justification for taking an employment-related action - **Due process**: Requirement that the employer use a fair process to determine employee wrongdoing - Allows employees to explain and defend their actions against charges or discipline **Figure 15.3 - Criteria for Evaluating Just Cause and Due Process** | Just Cause Determinants | Due Process Considerations | |---|---| | Was the employee warned of the consequences of the conduct? | How have precedents been handled? | | Was the employer's rule reasonable? | Is a complaint process available? | | Did management investigate before disciplining? | Was the complaint process used? | | Was the investigation fair and impartial? | Was retaliation used against the employee? | | Was there evidence of guilt? | Was the decision based on facts? | | Were the rules and penalties applied evenhandedly? | Were the actions and processes viewed as fair by outside entities? | | Was the penalty reasonable, given the offense? | | **Organizational Justice** | Organizational Justice Type | Description | |---|---| | **Distributive Justice** | Perceived fairness in the distribution of outcomes | | **Procedural Justice** | Perceived fairness of the process used to make decision about employees | | **Interactional Justice** | Perceived fairness about how a person interacts with others |