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Chapter 11: Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures
1. In the day-to-day administration of a collective bargaining agreement, the majority of
time is spent on ________.
a. bargaining wages
b. soliciting support for the union
c. grievance handling
d. creating awareness among employees about their rights
2. An employer’s refusal to process grievances is a violation of the ________.
a. Davis-Bacon Act
b. Performance Rating Act
c. Hatch Act
d. National Labor Relations Act
3. A perceived violation of a contract provision is known as a(n) ________.
a. gripe
b. injunction
c. grievance
d. lockout
4. If an employee does not like the harsh tone of his supervisor, the employee is said to have
a(n) ________.
a. injunction
b. grievance
c. preemption
d. gripe
5. Which of the following statements is TRUE of a grievance procedure?
a. A grievance procedure is not pre-defined but it is designed on a case-by-case basis.
b. Every grievance procedure is to be approved by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation
Service.
c. A grievance procedure must be provided in the collective bargaining agreement.
d. Typically, a grievance procedure is used to determine an appropriate level of wage
increase.
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6. Which of the following is the last step of a grievance procedure in most collective
bargaining agreements?
a. accepting an arbitrator’s decision
b. filing a petition with the NLRB
c. opting for mediation
d. accepting the employers decision
7. The initial step in a grievance procedure usually instructs an employee to ________.
a. register a complaint with the police
b. file a complaint with the NLRB
c. report the matter to the union grievance committee
d. discuss the grievance with the shop steward
8. Which of the following is a means of attaining grievance resolution at the lowest possible
level?
a. decreasing the size of the union
b. using feedback from previous grievance cases
c. reporting the grievance to the Federal Labor Relations Authority
d. consulting an arbitrator
9. Mathew has been working in a production company for the past 15 years. According to
the union contract provision, the company grants promotions only on the basis of
seniority. When a promotion opportunity came up, Mathew thought he would be given
the promotion because of his seniority. But to his dismay, the promotion was given to his
colleague who had joined the company a year ago. Mathew reported the grievance to the
shop steward and he agreed that the grievance had some merit and should be pursued
further. What is the immediate next step that Mathew and the steward should take?
a. Negotiate a last chance agreement among the employer, union, and employee.
b. Report the matter to an arbitrator.
c. Complete a grievance form.
d. Form a union grievance committee.
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10. During which of the following steps is a grievance said to have moved from the formal to
informal stage?
a. An employee informs a union steward about a grievance.
b. An employee completes a grievance form.
c. A union grievance committee is formed to resolve the grievance.
d. A union reports a grievance to an arbitrator.
11. In the case of a grievance procedure, at which stage are most grievances containing little
merit dropped?
a. reporting the matter to a mediator
b. forming a union grievance committee for resolving the grievance
c. discussing the grievance with the supervisor after it is put in writing
d. negotiating a last chance agreement with the employer
12. Which of the following is most likely to be used to assemble the crucial facts in a
grievance?
a. SWOT analysis
b. 5Ws rule
c. VRIO framework
d. Pareto chart
13. When the shop steward and supervisor cannot resolve the grievance, then it may be
appealed to the next higher level of management and union representative, usually within
________ calendar days.
a. seven
b. fifteen
c. thirty
d. forty-two
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14. The union contract provisions usually include that ________ may request arbitration as a
final step in resolving the grievance.
a. the NLRB
b. only management
c. the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
d. either management or labor
15. William has been working at H&S for the past 12 years. When some family trouble arose,
William wanted to work in the afternoon shift for a month rather than his usual morning
shift. The work performed in the afternoon shift was exactly the same as that in the
morning shift and William had all the skills required to perform the job. One of his
colleagues, Jack, who worked on the afternoon shift, was willing to swap shifts with
William for a month but the supervisor did not allow William to change his shift. William
reported the grievance to the union and it could not be resolved even after a long
discussion with the management. Which of the following steps is most likely to be taken
by the union as the final step in the grievance handling procedure?
a. Announce a strike.
b. Report the matter to the NLRB.
c. File a complaint against the employer in the court.
d. Request an arbitrator to resolve the grievance.
16. ________ are the most common tool to resolve conflicts arising between labor and
management during the life of the agreement.
a. Strikes
b. Formal grievance procedures
c. Work slowdowns
d. Employer lockouts
17. With reference to employee misconduct, which of the following statements is TRUE of
serious offenses?
a. If an employee commits a serious offence, the matter should be immediately reported to a
mediator without following the formal grievance procedure.
b. Failing to punch a timecard is an example of a serious offence.
c. Serious offenses under normal circumstances warrant immediate discharge.
d. Serious offenses call for attempts at corrective action.
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18. Which of the following is usually sufficient ground for immediate discharge?
a. union activity during nonwork hours
b. using company e-mail
c. unauthorized strike participation
d. off-duty misconduct
19. Which of the following is most likely to be considered a minor offence?
a. stealing at the workplace
b. picket line violence
c. threatening coworkers
d. failure to attend meetings
20. Which of the following factors is most likely to be considered by an arbitrator while
resolving a case of employee misconduct?
a. the skill set of the employee
b. the educational qualification of the employee
c. the employee’s length of service with the company
d. the employee’s designation in the company
21. Which of the following types of employee misconduct is most likely to warrant discharge
on the first incident?
a. Sam gets caught in a drunken driving case on a Saturday night while coming back from a
party.
b. Ron uses his office e-mail to communicate with his friends.
c. Jack damages a glass cutting machine at the work place to inconvenience his colleague
who uses it.
d. Samantha participates in lunch-hour poker.
22. If an employee holds a second job during his/her free time then it is known as ________.
a. whistle-blowing
b. moonlighting
c. astroturfing
d. social loafing
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23. Which of the following types of employee misconduct is most likely to be handled
through a progressive discipline system?
a. threatening coworkers
b. loafing during working hours
c. stealing at the workplace
d. picket like violence
24. Which of the following statements is TRUE of a progressive discipline system?
a. It addresses serious employee offences.
b. Its objective is to determine whether or not to discharge an employee accused of
misconduct.
c. It develops a last chance agreement on behalf of the employer.
d. It allows employees to correct their inappropriate behavior without serious or permanent
consequences.
25. A(n) ________ agreement is an agreement between the union and the employer that
allows an employee who was fired for misconduct his job back with the condition that if
the employee violates the agreement he will be discharged without right of an appeal.
a. non-disclosure
b. last chance
c. service level
d. collective bargaining
26. Which of the following statements is TRUE of a last chance agreement?
a. Whenever any change occurs in the union, the collective bargaining agreement is
renegotiated with the employer and it is known as the last chance agreement.
b. A last chance agreement is an agreement between a union and an employee who is not a
union member.
c. If an employee violates a last chance agreement then the matter is directly reported to an
arbitrator without following the usual grievance procedure and the arbitrator makes a final
binding decision.
d. A last chance agreement allows an employee who was fired for misconduct his job back
with the condition that if the employee violates the agreement he will be discharged
without right of an appeal.
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27. Which of the following statements is TRUE of a disciplinary procedure?
a. Disciplinary procedures are developed to administer last chance agreements.
b. Disciplinary procedures are unilaterally determined by the union.
c. Disciplinary procedures require approval of the Office of Legal Counsel.
d. Disciplinary procedures are outlined in most collective bargaining agreements.
28. Which of the following terms refers to a written agreement that describes the conduct of
an employee that led to the potential termination, specific policy violations, and specific
work requirements that if not met will lead to termination in the future, as well as the
employee’s forfeit of arbitration or litigation rights?
a. nondisclosure agreement
b. service level agreement
c. last chance agreement
d. collective bargaining agreement
29. Which of the following is an appropriate practice to be followed during a disciplinary
investigation from the management’s point of view?
a. Avoid including oral warnings in an employee’s personnel record instead, include only
the written warnings.
b. Before taking disciplinary action, consider the employee’s past record.
c. If a grievance goes to an arbitrator for resolution, put forward personality factors and
unproven assumptions as they are easy to defend.
d. Issue discipline only after a considerable time is passed after the misconduct so that the
employee and the union get some time to understand the ill effects of the misconduct.
30. The ________, in addition to civil and antidiscrimination laws, provides restrictions on
employee discipline. The act prohibits disciplinary action against employees for union-
related activity.
a. Selective Service Act
b. Federal Control Act
c. Reed-Jenkins Act
d. Labor-Management Relations Act
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31. Which of the following is most likely to be an offence that calls for immediate discharge?
a. a single instance of minor insubordination
b. workplace violence
c. failure to keep a time card
d. failure to attend a meeting
32. Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding grievance mediation?
a. Increasingly, contracts provide for grievance mediation as a voluntary last step after
arbitration.
b. During grievance mediation, the decision given by the mediator is binding on both the
parties.
c. Grievance mediation acts as a substitute for the contractual grievance resolution process.
d. The grievance mediation process is confidential and mediator has no authority to compel
a resolution.
33. Which of the following is a Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services’ guideline for
grievance mediation?
a. The statement given by either party as part of the grievance mediation process or any
documents prepared for a mediation session can be used during arbitration proceedings.
b. The grievance mediation process is a formal process and the meetings should be tape
recorded for future reference.
c. If the parties cannot resolve the problem, the mediator may provide the parties in joint or
separate session with an oral advisory opinion.
d. If required, the mediator is obliged to testify for any party, either in court proceedings or
before government regulatory authorities.
34. Which of the following is a major disadvantage of grievance mediation?
a. The process of grievance mediation is slower than arbitration.
b. The process of grievance mediation is more expensive than arbitration.
c. There is a possibility that the process of mediation will not lead to any settlement.
d. The process of grievance mediation is not confidential and the mediator is obliged to
share the details mediation of with the public.
35. Which of the following organizations is responsible for resolving labor disputes in the
railroad and airline industries?
a. National Mediation Board
b. Office of Infrastructure Protection
c. Wage and Hour Division
d. Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board
True/False
36. An employer’s refusal to process grievances is a violation of the NLRA.
37. A grievance is generally defined as a complaint by an employee concerning an action by
management that does not violate the contract, past practice, or law.
38. A grievance procedure is a previously agreed-on procedure to resolve disputes and it must
be provided in the collective bargaining agreement.
39. Typically, the grievant is provided with a systematic set of appeals through successively
higher levels of union and management representatives.
40. An employee has a legal right to report a grievance directly to a supervisor without
informing the shop steward.
41. If an employee reports a grievance to a supervisor, the supervisor must notify the union of
the grievance.
42. A grievance is said to have moved from the informal to the formal stage when a third
party arbitrator is consulted to resolve the grievance.
43. The 5Ws rule is used for assembling crucial facts in a grievance.
44. Filing court complaints is the most common tool to resolve conflicts arising between
labor and management during the life of the agreement.
45. Serious offenses call for attempts at corrective action and do not call for discharge for the
first offense.
46. Discourteous behavior toward a supervisor is generally considered a serious offence.
47. Theft at the workplace is generally considered a minor offence.
48. When an arbitrator is evaluating an employee misconduct case, the relative value of the
damage is the primary factor in considering the appropriate discipline; the person’s
deliberate and malicious intent has relatively little significance.
49. Employee discourtesy, especially for those who serve the public, is generally accepted as
just cause for disciplinary action.
50. Employees have an automatic right to use company email.
51. If an employee holds a second job during his/her free time, it is known as social loafing.
52. A progressive discipline system addresses only serious employee offences.
53. A progressive discipline system includes several levels of penalties such as warnings,
reprimands, suspensions, and finally, termination.
54. A collective bargaining agreement is also known as a last chance agreement.
55. If an employee violates the last chance agreement, then the matter is immediately
reported to an arbitrator who makes a final and binding decision.
56. A primary objective of a grievance process is to provide employees with a fair review
and, if necessary, an appeal of disciplinary actions taken by management.
57. Very few collective bargaining agreements outline a disciplinary procedure.
58. Disciplinary procedures are unilaterally determined by the union.
59. Before taking disciplinary action, management should consider the employee’s past
record.
60. The Capper-Ketchum Act prohibits disciplinary action against employees for union-
related activity.
61. Impaired work performance due to the influence of alcohol or drugs is one of the most
common grounds for immediate discharge.
62. Unauthorized strike participation is not a just cause for immediate discharge.
63. Most collective labor agreements provide for grievance mediation as a voluntary last step
after arbitration.
64. Grievance mediation is a substitute for a contractual grievance resolution process.
65. According to the FMCS guideline, no statement given by either party as part of the
grievance mediation process, nor any documents prepared for a mediation session, can be
used during arbitration proceedings.