Chapter
17
Employees and
the Corporation
17-1
Business
and
Society
POST, LAWRENCE, WEBER
McGraw-Hill/ Irwin
© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved.
Figure 17-1
Rights and duties of
employees and employers
17-2
Employee rights/Employer duties
Employee duties/Employer rights
• Right to organize and bargain
• No drug or alcohol abuse
• Safe and healthy workplace
• No actions that would
endanger others
• Privacy
•To treat others with respect and
• Discipline fairly and justly applied without harassment of any kind
• To blow the whistle
• Honesty; appropriate disclosure
• Equal employment opportunity
•Loyalty and commitment
• To be treated with respect for
fundamental human rights
• Respect for employer’s property and
intellectual capital
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© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved.
Restrictions on employment-at-will
An employer may not fire a worker:
17-3
• Because of race, gender, religion, national origin, age, or disability.
• If this would constitute a violation of public policy, as
determined by the courts.
• If, in doing so, it would violate the Worker Adjustment Retraining
Notification Act (WARN).
• Simply because the individual was involved in a union organizing drive, or
other union activity.
• If this would violate an implied contract, such as a verbal promise, or basic
rules of “fair dealing”.
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© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved.
Occasions for drug testing at work
• Pre-employment screening
• Some firms test all job applicants or selected
applicants before hire.
17-4
• Random testing of employees
• In many companies, workers in particular job categories
or levels are eligible for screening at any time.
• Testing for cause
• This test may be given when an employee is believed
to be impaired by drugs and unfit for work.
McGraw-Hill/ Irwin
© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved.
Figure 17-2a
Pros of employee drug testing
17-5
• Business cooperation with U.S. “War on Drugs” campaign.
• Improves employee productivity
• Promotes safety in the workplace
• Decreases employee theft and absenteeism
• Reduces health and insurance costs
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© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved.
Figure 17-2b
Cons of employee drug testing
• Invades an employee’s privacy
17-6
• Violates an employee’s right to due process
• May be unrelated to job performance
• May be used as a method of employee discrimination
• Lowers employee morale
• Conflicts with company values of honest and trust
• May yield unreliable test results
• Ignores effects of prescription drugs, alcohol, and over-the-counter drugs
• Drug use an insignificant problem for some companies
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© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved.
Conditions for whistle-blowing
17-7
• The unreported act would do serious and considerable
harm to the public.
• Once such an act has been identified, the employee has
reported the act to his or her immediate supervisor and has
made their moral concern known.
• If the immediate supervisor does nothing, the employee has
tried other internal pathways for reporting the problem.
McGraw-Hill/ Irwin
© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved.