1 Employee Stakeholders: Privacy, Safety, and Health Business and Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management, 7e Carroll & Buchholtz Copyright ©2009 by South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved Prepared by Deborah Baker Texas Christian University Chapter 18

2 1. Articulate the concerns surrounding the employee’s right to privacy in the workplace. 2. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of polygraphs, integrity tests, and drug testing as management instruments for decision making. 3. Discuss the right to safety and the right to know, and summarize the role and responsibilities of OSHA. 4. Elaborate on the right to health in the workplace, with particular reference to violence, smoke-free and family-friendly workplaces, and AIDS. Chapter 18 Learning Outcomes

3 Chapter 18 Outline  Right to Privacy in the Workplace  Workplace Safety  The Right to Health in the Workplace  Summary  Key Terms  Discussion Questions

4 Introduction to Chapter 18 The chapter focuses on the employee’s rights to:  Privacy  Safety  Healthy work environment

5 Definitions  Right to keep personal affairs to oneself  Right to know how personal information is being used  Privacy includes: Right to be left alone Right to autonomy The claim to determine when, how, and to what extent personal information is communicated to others Right to Privacy

6 Wired Magazine’s Best and Worst Firms for Privacy at Work The Best  IBM  HP  Ford  Baxter Healthcare  Sears Right to Privacy The Worst  Eli Lilly  Wal-Mart  New York Times Co.  BNSF  Hilton Hotels Figure 18-1

7 Workplace Privacy Issues 1.Collection and use of employee information in personnel files 2.Integrity testing 3.Drug testing 4.Monitoring employee’s work, behavior, conversations, and location by electronic means

8 Collection and Use of Employee Information  Privacy Act of 1974  USA Patriot Act  Background checks  Department of Health and Human Services  Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)  Fair Credit Reporting Act

9  History Bedouins of Arabia Ancient Chinese Machine development by Larson in 1929 Use of the Polygraph

10 Employee Polygraph Protection Act  Exceptions include: Security services Nuclear facilities Radioactive or toxic waste Public water supply facilities Public transportation Precious commodities Proprietary information Controlled substances Government employees Use of the Polygraph

11 Integrity Testing Screen employees and applicants Replace polygraphs Stem employee theft Reasons for Use

12  High cost of drug abuse Increased rate of accidents and injuries Increased rate of theft Increased propensity to make poor decisions Ruined lives  Ethical responsibility to employees and public to provide: Safe workplaces Secure asset protection Safe places to transact business Arguments for Drug Testing

13  Violates due process rights  Invades privacy rights  Grants greater weight to employer’s fights than to employee rights  Ignores employee’s actual performance Arguments Against Drug Testing

14 1. Written company policy and procedure concerning substance abuse 2. Requirements for drug testing program are documented 3. Employees get advance notice and right to refuse screening 4. Employee awareness if safety and security needs justify testing 5. Tests done uniformly and impartial 6. Specimen handling meets legal, technical, and ethical requirements 7. Qualified review of positive results prior to employer notification 8. Notification of employee or applicant prior to employer report 9. Report to employer contains only the information needed for work placement purposes or as required for government regulations Guidelines for Drug Testing

15  State laws Restrict drug testing to reasonable cause and suspicion  Federal laws Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Regulations for drug testing in certain organizations Drug Testing State and Federal Legislation

16 1.Employees are valuable members of the organization 2.It is better to help troubled employees than to discipline or discharge them 3.Recovered employees are better employees Employee Assistance Programs Affirmations of EAPs

17 Monitoring  Employee monitoring occurs at majority of mid- to large-sized firms video cameras recording phone calls Internet connections GPS camera phones

18 Right to Privacy  Invasion of privacy  Treats employees unfairly  Creates stress and tension  Produces low morale  Creates a sense of job insecurity Effects of Employee Monitoring

19 Right to Privacy 1.Obtain informed consent before acquiring information 2.Disclose the nature of any surveillance 3.Set controls to avoid unauthorized spread of information 4.Collect and use only job-relevant medical and health data 5.Require reasonable suspicion before doing drug tests 6.Respect and preserve the boundary between work and home Policy Guidelines on the Issue of Privacy

20 Workplace Safety OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard 1.Update inventories of hazardous chemicals in the workplace. 2.Assemble material safety data sheets. 3.Ensure that hazardous chemicals are properly labeled. 4.Train workers on the use of hazardous chemicals. 5.Prepare and maintain a written description of the hazard communication program. 6.Consider any problems with trade secrets from the disclosure requirements. 7.Review state requirements for hazard disclosure.

21 Workplace Safety  Nitpicking rules  Spotty record  Rejuvenated OSHA History of OSHA

22 Workplace Violence Each workday…  16,400 threats  723 workers are attacked  43,800 workers are harassed  1,000 homicides at work yearly  2 million assaults and threats of violence  One in four full-time workers has been affected  Perpetrators are primarily current employees (43.6%) and former employees (22.5%) Workplace Violence Statistics

23 Workplace Violence Workers who…  exchange money with the public  deliver passengers, goods, or services  work alone or in small groups  work late at night or early morning  work in community settings with extensive public contact  work in high-crime areas Who Is Affected?

24 Workplace Safety 1.Provide safety education 2.Secure the workplace 3.Provide drop safes 4.Equip field staff with cell phones and alarms 5.Instruct employees not to enter unsafe locations 6.Develop policies and procedures covering visits for home health-care providers OSHA’s Recommendations for Preventing Workplace Violence Figure 18-4

25 The Right to Health in the Workplace Two Major Issues Smoking HIV / AIDS

26 Right to Health in the Workplace Components of HIV / AIDS Comprehensive Programs 1.Workplace policy 2.Training for managers, supervisors, union leaders 3.Employee education 4.Family education 5.Community involvement

27 Family-Friendly Workplace 1. Dependent care flexible spending accounts 2. Flextime 3. Family leave above time required Family and Medical leave Act 4. Domestic partner benefits 5. Adoption assistance Family-Friendly Benefits

28 Family-Friendly Workplace  12 weeks of unpaid leave in 12-month period  Reinstatement in old or equivalent jobs  Health benefits during leave periods  Protection from retaliation FMLA Employee Rights

29 Family-Friendly Workplace  Companies with fewer than 50 workers are exempt  Right to demand that employees obtain medical opinions or certifications; may require additional opinions  Do not have to pay employees, but must continue health benefits  If employee and spouse are at the same firm, the total leave for both may be limited to 12 weeks FMLA Employer Rights

30  Privacy in the workplace  Privacy Act of 1974  Polygraph  Employee Polygraph Protection Act  Integrity tests  Type 1 error  Type 2 error  Drug testing  Americans with Disabilities Act  Employee Assistance Programs  Broad brush EAP  Employee monitoring  USA Patriot Act  Background checks  Electronic Communication Privacy Act  Chief privacy officers  Right-to-know laws  Workplace violence  Smoking in the workplace  Acquired immune deficiency syndrome  Work / life balance  Family-friendly  Family and Medical Leave Act Key Terms