Research Paper on "Legal Ethical Issue Relating to Human Resources Management"

Research Paper 8 pages (2564 words) Sources: 7

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Legal/Ethical Issue Relating to Human Resources Management

The communication by way of emails and phone calls within an organization should be observed in order to help stop workplace violence. If employees are using company issued equipment in order to threaten people or make derogatory comments this should be considered unethical and employees should be terminated for threating other employee's lives. This was the central issue that was looked at in the case of Michael A. Smyth v. The Pillsbury Company, 914 F. Supp. 97; 1996 U.S. Dist.

Plaintiff was an at-will worker who filed a wrongful discharge action against his employer. He claimed that his company violated his right to privacy by intercepting e-mail messages that he transmitted using the company's e-mail structure and in firing him for his improper comments. The district court decided the defendant's action to discharge the complaint founded upon Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b) (6). The court applied the designation of the tort of intrusion upon privacy to the details and conditions of the case and decided that the employee had not put forth an argument upon which relief could be given. Unlike with a urine test and personal property investigations, the court determined that there was no rational anticipation of confidentiality in e-mail messages that the employee willingly made to his manager over the company e-mail structure despite any declarations that such messages would not be seen by managers. The court held that even if there had been such an anticipation of confidentiality, a rational person would not believe the company's interception of such communications to have been a considerable and highly unpleasant attack of confidentiality. The district court decided the employer's action to discharge the plaintiff's action for wrongful discharge for failing to bring forth a claim for which relief could be given. The court decided that the interception of the employees unsuitable e-mail messages by way of the company e-mail structure did not tortiously overrun plaintiff's solitude and, thus, did not infringe on any public rule.

The decision that they court came to was based in part upon the various California labor codes that have been put into place in that state. Labor Code section 6400 et seq. And Code of Civil Procedure section 527.8, when looked at as a whole, institute an overt public rule that requires company's to supply a secure and protected environment, including an obligation to take practical steps in order to deal with believable threats of aggression in the place of work. Labor Code section 6400, subdivision (a) presents that every company has to provide a working environment that is secure and healthy for the workers. Labor Code section 6401 presents that every company shall reasonably do every thing needed to guard the life, safety, and well-being of its workers. Labor Code 6402 presents that a company shall not necessitate, or allow any worker to go or be in any workplace which is not secure and healthy. Labor Code 6403 to presents that if a company fails or neglects to do everything rationally essential to guard the life, safety, and well-being of workers that they will be held liable. Labor Code 6404 provides that a company shall not inhabit or uphold any place of service that is not secured and healthy (Labor Code Section 6400-6413.5, n.d.).

In this situation, the District Court discharged the unlawful firing action alleged by plaintiff in opposition to his company. The court came to this decision despite believing as true, for the reasons of the action, the following arguments put forward by the employee:

1. The company had assured that it would not read employee e-mail, nor fire or punish a worker founded on the substance of e-mails; and

2. In violation of such assurance, defendant intercepted plaintiff's e-mail, and fired him since they determined its substance unsuitable and unprincipled.

The court discarded the employee's argument that this behavior comprised an invasion of their privacy under the regulation. The court held that they did not find a rational viewpoint of confidentiality in e-mail exchanges willingly done by a worker to his manager by way of the company e-mail structure despite some declarations that these exchanges would not be intercepted by the employer. Once the worker exchanged the suspected unprincipled remarks to his manager by way of an e-mail structure which was seemingly used by the entire organization, any rational probability of confidentiality was gone. The organization did not necessitate the employee, as in the case of a urine test or personal belongings investigation, to reveal any individual knowledge about himself. To a certain extent, plaintiff willingly exchanged the suspected unprofessional observations by way of the company e-mail structure. The court established that no confidentiality well-being in such exchanges. They found that that a rational individual would believe the company's interception of such messages to be a significant and extremely distasteful assault of his confidentiality. The court felt that by intercepting these messages, the defendant was not necessitating the worker to reveal any individual information about themselves or attacking the workers person or personal things. Furthermore, the business's attention in averting unsuitable and unprincipled remarks or even unlawful actions over its e-mail structure overshadows any confidentiality attention the worker may have in those remarks (Samson, 2010).

A creditable threat is one in which the employee rationally thinks will be followed through, so as to the reason that would cause the worker to fear for their safety or that of their relatives. The email that was written by Smyth in this case was convincing enough that he wanted to kill someone by poison or stabbing. Any reasonable person would feel that this was a creditable threat and thus the organization had every right to terminate his employment.

Workplace violence is hostility or the risk of hostility against employees. It can happen at or outside of the work environment and can differ from pressures and verbal mistreatment to physical attacks and homicide, which is considered to be one of the foremost reasons for work related deaths (OSHA Fact Sheet, 2002). Place of work violence has more and more turn out to be a worry in the United States. Shootings in the post office and other aggressive job-related events constantly gather a considerable quantity of press exposure and media consideration. Law enforcement has had to come up with laws expressly linked to place of work violence to facilitate successfully handle the crisis. Even as every state has its individual set of rules in place that influence how company's function in association to aggressive issues, the federal government has its individual rules that are relevant in all fifty states (Davidson, 2010).

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) sustains that a company is strictly accountable for supplying a safe workplace for all workers and anybody else present in the workplace. If a company is found to have overlooked signals of an aggressive condition, such as stalking or singling out, or is established careless in permitting an aggressive act to happen in the workplace, than the company can be cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Workers that report a company's careless actions in averting aggressive events are sheltered from being retaliated upon by the company (Davidson, 2010).

Many federal rules work in combination with one another, and laws concerning aggression in the work environment are no exemption. Some aggressive events in the place of work can arise from stalking, and there are federal rules in place that explicitly ban the stalking or maltreatment of any employee on the foundation of their sex, race, religious viewpoints or sexual orientation. If a company is conscious of a harassment circumstances going on a work, that company is in breach of both the OSH Act and federal stalking rules. If a specific company is determined to be accountable, that individual can have criminal charges brought as well as found civilly accountable, depending on the harshness and confirmation concerning the event. The company can be cited as well if it is established that the stalking was known about and not handled with efficiently or prohibited (Davidson, 2010).

States are encouraged by OSHA to shape individual laws concerning aggression in the workplace, but the state laws must adhere to the lowest values determined by federal law and not disagree with those already in place. Federal workers are sheltered by the place of work violence laws of their particular associations, though, federal associations cannot be fined for breaching well-being and security principles per Executive order. The one exemption is the U.S. Post office, which now is included under OSHA authority just like all other private companies (Davidson, 2010).

There are about two million employees who are sufferers of workplace aggression every year. Place of work aggression can occur anyplace, and no person is untouchable. A number of employees, nonetheless, are at a greater jeopardy. Amid them are employees who swap money with the public; transport customers, merchandise, or services; or are employed by themselves or in very little groupings, at nighttime… READ MORE

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