Today’s Topics BRIEF Review of Employee Rights and

Duties Whistleblowing Meaningful Work

Do Employees Need a Bill of Rights?

Ewing--YES Martin--NO

Do Employees Need a Bill of Rights?

A Right Is Not Something Government Gives You, It is

Something Government Cannot Take From You

Employment at Will

An employer may dismiss an employee for good cause, for no cause, or even for a cause that is morally wrong, without thereby being legally wrong.

Employment at Will Justifies:

Punishment for Exercising Free Speech Punishment for Exercising

Conscientious Objection Punishment for Choice of Activities and

Associations Infringing Security and Privacy Infringing Due Process

The Modern Corporation Is Very Much Like A

Government

Since Corporations Are Government-Like, Employees Need a Bill of Rights

Rights to Protect

Free Speech Free Association

During Off-Duty Hours Conscientious

Objection No Monitoring of

Employees Without Knowledge and Consent

Search and Seizure Only Relevant

Information in Files No Gratuitous Slams No Disciplinary Action

Without Written Justification

Due Process

Martin--Employees Do Not Need a Bill of Rights

The Industrial Democracy Analogy is Wrong

Government entrusted to exercise legitimate force

Costs of switching allegiance between employers is low

The Industrial Democracy Analogy Works ONLY in

Cases of Monopsonistic Labor Markets

Absent monopsonistic power, employer-employee relationships are the result of explicit and implicit bargaining that leave both better off. Each must be better off because each is free to terminate the relationship at will.

Civil Liberties in the Workplace Are Costly

The Reduction in Personal Liberty that workers Sustain in the Firm Have a Lower Value than the Increase in Earning

Power.

Drug Testing In the Workplace

Des Jardins--Moral Limits on Legitimate Testing

Waldholz--Differing Corporate Views of Drug Testing

Does Drug Testing Violate the Moral Right to Privacy?

A Right to Privacy Protects One Party Against Another Gaining Access to a Specific Piece of Information

One Party Violates Another’s Right to Privacy When One Gains Access to Information that Is Irrelevant to the Relationship or Contractually Protected

Is Knowledge of Past, Off-Duty Drug Use Relevant to the Employer-Employee Relationship?

Pro-Testing Thesis: Drug Use Is Relevant to:

Workplace Safety Worker Efficiency

Anti-Testing Counter Argument

Performance is the issue, not the cause of the performance

This applies to both the Safety and the Efficiency arguments

Parity of reasoning arguments--why worry only about drug related impairment?

Drug Tests Are Not As Efficient as One Might Hope

EMIT is 99% sensitive and 90% specific Assume a pool of 10,000 subjects, with

a 5% use rate. How confident are you that someone

who tests positive is a user? 34% of those who test positive are

actually users

Performance Testing Provides a Better Alternative

It address performance and current impairment, not past usage

Performance is clearly relevant, so there are no privacy worries

Differing Corporate Views of Drug Testing

Peabody Kidder (investment bank) tests Drexelbrook engineering does not

Peabody Kidder

Testing improves image Sends a message about the corporation

Drexelbrook

The information testing produces is not very relevant

Testing well is very expensive Testing demoralizes workers and

violates privacy Performance testing is a better

approach

Whistleblowing

Recall the case of General Dynamics and the LTV brake (p. 119)

Should the engineer involved have blown the whistle?

Did he?

What, exactly, is whistleblowing?

The action of an employee or former employee who makes public information about a product or practice that threatens to produce harm to the public or to individuals.

An attempt by an employee or former employee to disclose (perceived) wrongdoing by the organization.

A Few Distinctions:

Internal External

Personal Impersonal

Current Alumni

Open Anonymous

ALL Whistleblowing is Morally Problematic Because:

It is contrary to the duties of loyalty and trust

It violates the social norm against ‘ratting’

It subject the whistleblower to serious risks

DeGeorge On the Criteria for Legitimate Whistleblowing

Conditions that Justify Blowing the Whistle:1. The threatened harm must be serious.

2. The threat has been reported internally.

3. Internal reporting has produced no changes.

Conditions that REQUIRE Blowing the Whistle:

1. Documented evidence that the product or practice poses a serious, likely danger to the public

2. There is a good reason to believe that ‘going public’ will result in changes in the organization.

James Challenges DeGeorge’s Criteria as Too Strict:

Would Ford engineers, using DeGeorge’s criteria, have been required to blow the whistle on the Pinto? Maybe not.

Don’t we have a duty to warn people of risks, even though they may ignore our warnings?

Yes, this is simply supplying them with relevant information.

The presumption should be in favor of disclosing relevant information, with some constraints and restrictions.

Meaningful Work

What Is the Meaning of Work? Old testament--Work is a curse and a

punishment. St. Paul--Work is a necessary evil. If you

don’t work, you don’t eat. Calvin & Reformation--Work defines

character. Work is a calling. Today--It is a curse to be unable to work.

Work, Self Definition and Self Identification

Sisyphus The Labor Theory of Value The Evil of Non-Productive Work “Real Work” versus Knowledge Work

Alienated Labor and the Unhappy Worker

Labor/Management relations, the need for unions

Alternative models

Work As a Good

Extrinsic (Instrumental) goods Intrinsic goods

Why Work?

Rewards and Success Creativity and Self-Expression Essential time

Work, Time and Leisure

Modern work and poorly spent time (meetings)

“Doing your job” and “wasting time” Work time, wasted time, leisure time

- We need to study leisure and learn how to relax

Management Responses to the Need for Meaningful Work

Our Workers Are Our Most Valuable Resource

Modern Workers Want Interesting, Challenging, Rewarding Work

TQM, QWL, Quality Circles, CQI, ISO 9000 Are All, In Part, Responses to the Problem of Making Work Meaningful

TQM

Gives workers a voice in the company Extends growth and participation in the

company Lets the people who know the job

manage the job

Is TQM Really Beneficial

Divisiveness Results from TQM Strategies

Plants within a company are pitted against one another

Workers within a plant pitted against one another

QWL is a preferred tool of union busters QWL is disguised trickle down

Is “Meaningful Work” a Myth?

Do workers desire “meaningful work? Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs--Is Self-

Actualization Everyone’s Goal?

Most Workers Like Their Jobs

“More interesting,” “more challenging,” and “less boring” are not the things they would change

85% DO NOT identify with their work

Meaningful Work Satisfies the Needs of a Narrow Cross Section of Workers--Members of the Symbolic Analytic Class