Fundamentals of Human

Resource Management
Eighth Edition

DeCenzo and Robbins

Chapter 4
Employee Rights and HR Communications

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 Introduction
• Employee rights have become
one of the more important
human resource issues.
• The U.S. Constitution, laws,
and Supreme Court rulings
have increasingly constrained
employer actions related to
employee rights.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 Employment Rights Legislation
and Its HRM Implications
• Privacy Act of 1974
– Requires government agencies to make available
to employees information contained in their
personnel files.
– Employees may also have the right to review
letters of recommendation made on their behalf.
– Similar state laws apply to state and private-sector
employees.
– Restrictions include employee waivers of right to
review and procedures which stipulate when and
how a file can be accessed.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

Employment Rights Legislation and
Its HRM Implications
• Privacy Act of 1974
– Computerized information systems add
more complexities and potential flexibility
to employee records.
– The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1971
• Extension to the Privacy Act
• Requires employers to notify employees that
their credit is being checked
• Provide additional information to applicants
who are negatively affected by a credit check.
• Information used must be job relevant.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

Employment Rights Legislation and
Its HRM Implications
• The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988
– requires government agencies, federal
contractors, and those receiving federal
funds of $25,000 or more to actively
pursue a drug-free environment.
– Covered organizations
• must establish and disseminate policies
• provide substance-abuse awareness programs

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

Employment Rights Legislation and
Its HRM Implications
• The Drug-Free Workplace
Act of 1988
– Companies regulated by the
Department of
Transportation and Nuclear
Regulatory Commission
must test employees in
certain jobs for drugs.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

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

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 Employment Rights Legislation
and Its HRM Implications
• Polygraph Protection Act of
1988
– Prohibits employers in the private
sector from using lie-detector tests in
all employment decisions.
– May still be used during
investigations of suspected criminal
activity
– Employees can challenge the results
of a polygraph.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
Employment Rights Legislation and
Its HRM Implications
• Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification Act of 1988
– Plant Closing Bill
– Protects employees from unexpected plant
closings.
• The law does recognize circumstances in
which advance notice is impossible.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

Employment Rights Legislation and
Its HRM Implications
• Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification Act of 1988
– Organizations employing 100 or more
individuals
– 60 days notice in advance
– Close the facility or lay off 50 or more
workers
• Penalty
– One day’s pay and benefits for each day’s
notice

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 Current Issues Regarding
Employee Rights
• Drug Testing
– The severity of substance abuse in
organizations has led to use of drug testing
even by organizations not covered by the
Drug-Free Workplace Act.
– Drug testing of current employees typically:
• Offers rehabilitation to those who fail
• Communicates that drugs will not be tolerated

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 Current Issues Regarding
Employee Rights
• Drug Testing
– Should be done after a job offer is made.
– Those who fail are generally no longer
considered.
– Companies are
• Moving to more precise tests by using ones
that do not involve body fluids
• Communicating clear policies and procedures
• Relating the testing program to safety and job
performance.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 Current Issues Regarding
Employee Rights
• Honesty Tests
– Written tests to get applicants to
reveal information about their
integrity.
– Legal alternative to polygraph
– 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.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
 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.
– 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
• Employee Monitoring and Workplace
Security
– Interests are protected against
• Theft
• Revealing of trade secrets to competitors
• Using the customer database for personal gain

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 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

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.

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.
– Statutory considerations: Federal
and/or state laws can create
exceptions
– Public policy violation: Employees
cannot be fired for disobeying an
illegal order from the employer
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
 The Employment-at-Will
Doctrine
• Exceptions to the Doctrine:
– Implied employment contract: verbal or
written statements made by members of
the organization, such as promises of job
security or statements in an employee
handbook.
– Breach of good faith: An employer
breaches a promise or abuses its
managerial powers.

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 standards of
acceptable behavior.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 Discipline and Employee
Rights
• Factors to consider when disciplining
– Seriousness of the problem
– Duration of the problem
– Frequency and nature of the problem
– Extenuating factors
– Degree of socialization
– History of organization’s discipline
practices
– Management backing

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 Discipline and Employee
Rights
• The most frequent violations requiring
disciplinary action involve
– Attendance
– On-the-job behaviors
– Dishonesty
– Outside activities

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 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.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 Discipline and Employee
Rights
• Disciplinary Guidelines
– Follow the Hot-stove rule; i.e. immediate
response; ample warning; consistency;
impersonal.
– Allow employees to have a representative
present for disciplinary meetings.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 Discipline and Employee
Rights
• Disciplinary Actions
– Written verbal warning
– Written warning
– Suspension
– Dismissal

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 Employee Counseling
• This approach is most appropriate
when a performance problem is not
amenable to training and development
or mentoring and coaching.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

 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

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

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.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

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
recruits.
– Caution: Use disclaimer to avoid
handbook being interpreted as implied
contract.
– Must be seen as useful, concise, well-
organized and must be continually
updated.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

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 and
radio antennas, and infrared light rays
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
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

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

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

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins