Criminal Administrator’s Responsibilities

Administrative functions and responsibilities cover a wide spectrum of concerns relating to workers’ employee rights. Corollary, the basic rights of employees guaranteed by the constitution and other statutes underlie the duties and responsibilities of a criminal justice administrator. With regards to drug testing, the criminal justice administrator should establish guidelines clarifying purposes and procedures governing the testing for drugs and alcohol based on reasonableness of purpose and scope, or when there is a special need that outweighs the individual’s privacy interest (The National Worksrights Institute).

The administrator should therefore institute a written policy which identifies the specific positions subject to testing, the manner in which the testing will be administered, the right of an employee to refuse to be tested and the consequences of refusing, the disciplinary or other action which may result from a test, and the rights of a person with respect to retesting and appeal.

Relating to privacy rights, the criminal justice administrator should see to it that clear guidelines are in place to respect an employee’s reasonable expectation of privacy in his desk, file cabinets, and office, and enforce procedures in making reasonable intrusions into those zones of privacy (O’Connor v. Ortega, 107 S. Ct. 1492, 1987). In this modern era of digital technology, the criminal justice administrator must establish policies and protocols including proper monitoring practices to respect the privacy rights of employees.

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The administrator should ensure that mechanisms are in place to provide clear written notification of their right and intent to randomly monitor, read and intercept data from workplace computer networks and terminals (The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986). Additionally, the administrator must issue guidelines to ensure confidentiality of medical information and all medical data related to the employee’s health, diagnosis and treatment of illness or any information revealed during medical consultations (American with Disabilities Act of 1990).

With regards to sexual harassment issues, the administrator must take all steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring, such as affirmatively raising the subject, expressing strong disapproval, developing appropriate sanctions, informing employees of their right to raise and how to raise the issue of harassment and developing methods to sensitize all concerned. As such, the administrator must implement an effective sexual harassment preventive program founded on an explicit policy against sexual harassment that is clearly and regularly communicated to employees and effectively implemented.

The administrator should see to it that a procedure for resolving sexual harassment complaints and to encourage victims to file complaints is in place. Thus, the administrator should take immediate and appropriate corrective action by doing whatever is necessary to end the harassment, make the victim whole by restoring lost employment benefits or opportunities, and prevent the misconduct from recurring. (U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1990).

Concerning disability issues, the criminal justice administrator should formulate policies and guidelines that shall not discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual in regard to “job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment”. (Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 102). As such, he must impose standards, criteria, or methods of administration or administrative control that respect the rights of persons with disabilities.