Chapter 2—The Legal Environment
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on all of the following EXCEPT
a.
national origin.
b.
race.
c.
sex.
d.
religion.
e.
knowledge, skills, and abilities.
2. All of the following are forces that effect the legal environment of human relations in the US EXCEPT
a.
the Supreme Court.
b.
the President of the United States.
c.
the State legislatures.
d.
Congress.
e.
Employees.
3. The steps in the regulatory process are
a.
burden, enforcement, and implementation.
b.
creation, enforcement, implementation, revision, enforcement, and revision.
c.
creation, enforcement, and implementation.
d.
creation, burden, implementation, and enforcement.
e.
creation, implementation, and enforcement.
4. The most important human resource regulatory agency is the
a.
Department of Labor.
b.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
c.
National Labor Relations Board.
d.
Department of Justice.
e.
Affirmative Action Agency.
5. One method for establishing whether disparate impact exists in a company’s hiring practices involves
a.
focus groups.
b.
using the one-third rule.
c.
using absolute counts of protected class members.
d.
practicing retaliation.
e.
geographic comparisons.
6. The most noteworthy factors used to characterize a protected class include
a.
disability status.
b.
religion.
c.
national origin.
d.
gender.
e.
all of these.
7. Quid pro quo sexual harassment typically involves
a.
unwelcome individual advances for a date.
b.
sexual favors in return for something of value.
c.
making jokes about a particular gender.
d.
inappropriate pictures with sexual content displayed on the wall.
e.
meeting colleagues for dinner after work hours.
8. Executive Order 11478 requires that federal contractors receiving more than ____ must have affirmative
action plans.
a.
$1
b.
$10,000
c.
$50,000
d.
$100,000
e.
$1,000,000
9. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits discrimination with respect to age of employees
or applicants
a.
near retirement age.
b.
40 and over.
c.
over 18.
d.
65 or over.
e.
for all ages.
10. Which of the following would probably NOT be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act?
a.
A mentally retarded employee
b.
An employee with a learning disability
c.
An employee with cancer
d.
A person with poor vision that is correctable with glasses
e.
An employee who is thought to be disabled but is not
11. The Family Medical Leave Act requires employers to provide which of the following for employees
under certain emergency circumstances?
a.
Up to 4 weeks of paid leave
b.
Up to 4 weeks of unpaid leave
c.
Up to 12 weeks of paid leave
d.
Up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave
e.
Unlimited unpaid leave
12. The Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires that federal contractors receiving more than ____
must have affirmative action plans for persons who have disabilities.
a.
$100
b.
$1,000
c.
$2,500
d.
$25,000
e.
$50,000
13. The American with Disabilities Act requires companies to
a.
hire everyone with a documented disability.
b.
discriminate against those persons who have a disability.
c.
hire a diversity consultant.
d.
make reasonable accommodations for disabled individuals.
e.
spend $100,000 per year on disability training.
14. The Fair Labor Standards Act legislates such issues as:
a.
disparate impact.
b.
union activity.
c.
child labor.
d.
collective bargaining.
e.
all of these.
15. Titleist makes most of the golf clubs it sells to U.S. buyers in China, where the average hourly wage is
the equivalent of less than $1 per hour. Under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, Titleist
a.
is in violation of the act, because $1 per hour is less than the mandated minimum wage.
b.
is in violation of the act, because some of the workers are younger than 16 years of age.
c.
is in violation of the act, because the Chinese workers are nonexempt.
d.
is NOT in violation of the act, because the FLSA applies only to workers in the United
States.
e.
is NOT in violation of the act, because the Chinese workers work fewer than 40 hours per
week.
16. ____ was passed to protect employee pensions benefits.
a.
ADA
b.
FLSA
c.
ERISA
d.
ADEA
e.
OSHA
17. Which labor law was passed to regulate union actions and internal affairs related to employee
representation, shifting some power away from unions?
a.
Taft-Hartley Act
b.
Fair Practices Act
c.
Wagner Act
d.
Norris-LaGuardia Act
e.
Fair Labor Standards Act
18. ____ was passed to protect employee safety.
a.
ADA
b.
FLSA
c.
ERISA
d.
ADEA
e.
OSHA
19. Employees at Borders Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan, recently held a strike to force their employer
to negotiate a labor contract. Borders’ employees were given the right to do this by the
a.
Taft-Hartley Act.
b.
National Labor Relations Act.
c.
Landrum-Griffin Act.
d.
Occupational Safety and Health Act.
e.
Fair Labor Standards Act.
20. The Occupational Safety and Health Act
a.
is enforced by the EEOC.
b.
requires employers to provide a hazard-free work environment.
c.
permits inspections by specially trained officers called inspectors general.
d.
provides for criminal penalties for willful violations of the act.
e.
was passed in the late 1980s.
21. The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 was passed to
a.
reduce the use of all drugs in the workplace.
b.
reduce the use of illegal drugs in the workplace.
c.
illuminate the use of all drugs during working hours.
d.
enable companies to monitor the use of drugs outside of the workplace.
e.
all of these.
22. The Privacy Act of 1974 ensures that
a.
federal employees can review their personnel files for accuracy.
b.
workers who reveal company secrets to competitors face severe penalties.
c.
employers cannot monitor personal emails received on work computers.
d.
employees’ behavior outside of work cannot be monitored or tested.
e.
an employee’s medical information cannot be shared without permission from the
employee.
23. The law that prohibits employers from collecting genetic information about their employees is called
the:
a.
Age Discrimination of Employment Act
b.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act
c.
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
d.
American Disabilities Act
e.
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
24. Alpha-Beta Company closed a plant and laid off 100 workers, who each made $100 per day in pay and
benefits. The closing was announced by company managers on April 1 and took place 30 days later.
Under the provisions of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act of 1988 (WARN), Alpha-Beta must
pay a penalty of
a.
$0.
b.
$200.
c.
$40,000.
d.
$100,000.
e.
$300,000.
25. Charlie Company is evaluating its human resource legal compliance. Who is the LEAST likely to be
involved?
a.
The firm’s legal staff
b.
Managers
c.
Line workers
d.
Human resource staff
e.
Outside legal auditors
26. What are the steps for evaluating legal compliance?
a.
Internal audit, management understanding, legal and HR staff review, and external audit
b.
External audit and legal review
c.
Management understanding, legal and HR staff review, and external audit
d.
Internal audit, HR staff review, management understanding, legal review, and external audit
e.
Make decisions, then ask for forgiveness later
27. The Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Act of 1974 is directed primary at:
a.
federal contractors.
b.
federal subcontractors.
c.
all private companies.
d.
both federal contractors and federal subcontractors.
e.
state contractors.
28. The ____ established the workweek in the United States as 40 hours per week.
a.
ADA
b.
ADEA
c.
FMLA
d.
ERISA
e.
FLSA
29. The basic premise of OSHA is that each employer must provide a workplace that is safe for employees,
which is known as the
a.
qualification standard.
b.
inspection agreement.
c.
general duty clause.
d.
arbitration agreement.
e.
lawful worker treatment clause.
30. The Privacy Act of 1974 applies directly to ____ employees.
a.
federal
b.
state
c.
for-profit
d.
not-for-profit
e.
municipality
Scenario 2.1
Tia’s Tamale Factory employs 50 workers to make and ship food products all over the United States.
Tia’s factory is located in Southern California, in a community where 60 percent of the residents have
Spanish surnames or identify themselves as Hispanic. Tia must hire a new cook and despite her best
efforts, she gets only three applicants. Conchita is a 35-year-old Hispanic female, Sancho is a
17-year-old Hispanic male, and Maureen is a 48-year-old white woman who uses a wheelchair.
31. Refer to Scenario 2.1. Tia’s workers are mostly Hispanic women. If Tia believes that only a Hispanic
women could fit in at her workplace and hires Conchita for this reason, it will likely be
a.
discrimination on the basis of national origin in violation of Title VII.
b.
discrimination on the basis of age in violation of the ADEA.
c.
permissible discrimination because of affirmative action.
d.
permissible because most of the local residents are Hispanics.
e.
permissible because Tia is a private employer.
32. Refer to Scenario 2.1. Suppose Tia does not hire Sancho. Which of the following regulations could
Sancho use in an attempt to claim that Tia discriminated against him?
a.
Americans with Disabilities Act
b.
The disparate treatment clause of Title VII, due to his race
c.
The disparate treatment clause of Title VII, due to his gender
d.
Occupational Safety and Health Act
e.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act
33. Refer to Scenario 2.1. Suppose Conchita and Maureen are equally qualified and Tia flips a coin to decide
between them. The coin lands on tails and accordingly Tia hires Maureen. This action would probably be
a.
a violation of Executive Order 11246.
b.
a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
c.
a violation of Title VII.
d.
not a violation of Title VII because the other employees are primarily Hispanic.
e.
permissible under Title VII because the applicants were treated equally.
34. Refer to Scenario 2.1. Suppose Conchita and Maureen are equally qualified but Tia must raise the stove
at a cost of $10,000 to accommodate Maureen’s wheelchair. To avoid the expense, Tia hires Conchita. It
is likely this action is
a.
lawful under ADA because the applicants were equally qualified.
b.
unlawful under Title VII because the applicants were of different races.
c.
lawful under ADA if the accommodation was an undue hardship on Tia.
d.
lawful under ADA. Maureen is not considered disabled under ADA because her disability is
correctable with a wheelchair.
e.
unlawful under the ADA because Tia has to accommodate Maureen regardless of expense.
35. Refer to Scenario 2.1. Suppose Tia hires Sancho and requires him to take a drug test because of safety
issues on the job. Can Tia legally require this?
a.
Yes. Tia can require Sancho to take a drug test.
b.
Yes. However, Tia can only require Sancho to take a drug test before making a job offer.
c.
No. This would be against the FLSA.
d.
No. This would violate the ADA.
e.
No. This would violate the ADEA.
TRUE/FALSE
36. One catalyst for modifying or enhancing the human resource legal environment may be social change.
37. In some cases, a regulation may be unintentionally ambiguous or may be interpreted by the courts in
different ways over time.
38. A BFOQ exception must be supported with a justified position of business necessity.
39. Disparate impact occurs when an employer knowingly practices illegal discrimination.
40. The Privacy Act of 1974 prohibits employers from collecting any genetic information about their
employees, including information about family history of disease.
41. The Equal Pay act ’s provisions expand the rights of the government or law enforcement agencies to
collect information about and pursue potential terrorists.
42. The first step of legal compliance is to ensure that managers clearly understand the laws that govern
every aspect of human resource management.
43. All managers must understand and be intimately familiar with the various laws that restrict and govern
their behavior vis—vis their employees.
44. Ian owns a construction company with five employees. He wants to fire someone. He has no legal
staff to advise him, so he should terminate the employee now.
45. External legal audits are inexpensive.
SHORT ANSWER
46. Describe the regulatory process for human resource management in the United States.
47. Describe the two types of sexual harassment identified by the courts.
48. Summarize the protections that workers are afforded under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
49. What worker rights are regulated by the National Labor Relations Act? How does this Act differ from
the other two significant pieces of legislation regarding labor relations⎯the Taft-Hartley Act and the
Landrum-Griffin Act?
50. How does an organization evaluate its compliance with legal requirements?