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Concepts to know:
Chapter 1 concepts, Overview of Employment Law: 1. What is the relationship between labor law litigation, summary judgments, and arbitration? 2. What are the sources of labor law? 3. What is state action and why is it important in employment law? 4. What is the constitutional basis for federal employment statutes? 5. What is an equitable remedy such as an injunction, and how does it differ from legal remedies? 6. What advantages does arbitration have over litigation? . . . what disadvantages? 7. What is the Federal Arbitration Act? 8. Who should pay for arbitration? 9. Can employees be compelled to arbitrate their employment discrimination claims? 10. Are arbitration agreements always enforceable? 11. What is the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service? 12. What is employment-at-will? 13. If the employment relationship is contractual, then is an employee-at-will who lacks a contract actually an employee? 14. What are the basic elements of a contract? 15. What is a right to sue letter? 16. Can the EEOC ignore an arbitration agreement?
Chapter 2 concepts, The Employment Relationship: 1. How is an employee distinguished from an independent contractor? 2. What difference does such a classification make? 3. What is vicarious liability and why is it important for business owners to know about it? 4. What is respondeat superior? 5. How does (and did) the law view the employment relationship? 6. What are the rights of temporary workers? . . . of volunteers? . . . partners? 7. Does an agency relationship differ from an employment relationship? 8. Can an employer be held liable by the discriminatory actions of its employees? . . . its managerial employees? 9. What is an integrated enterpise? . . . joint employers? 10. What is extraterritoriality?
Chapter 3 concepts, Overview of Employment Discrimination:
1. How is discrimination defined? 2. What are protected groups under our employment laws? 3. What types of discrimination does the law recognize? 4. What is a prima facie case and how is it made? 5. What are the various types of employment discrimination cases? 6. What is the 4/5ths or 80% test and when and how is it applied? 5. When does the law allow an employer to discriminate against members of protected groups? 6. What is pretext, and in what type of case is it significant? 7. What is a retaliation case and how does it differ from an ordinary discrimination case? 8. What is prohibited by Title VII? 9. What is stereotyping and is it legal?
Chapter 4 concepts, Recruitment, Applications, and Interviews: 1. What is the key to non-discrimnatory recruiting? 2. What record-keeping requirements do employers face with regard to selection? 3. What are nepotism and promoting from within? . . . word-of mouth advertising? . . . are they legal? 4. What is negligent hiring and how does it differ from vicarious liability? 5. What is fraudulent hiring? 6. What issues arise from employment references? 7. When are medical inquiries legal during the hiring process? 8. How significant is after-acquired evidence of resume fraud?
Chapter 5 concepts, Background Checks, References, etc.: 1. When is an employer liable for its employees' negligence? . . .their criminal acts? 2. What is negligent hiring and what are its elements? 3. What is an adequate background check and what is a consequence of not doing one? 4. What is defamation and what is the employer's qualified privilege? 5. What is a negligent referral? 6. Should employers provide references, and, if so, to what extent and who should give them? 7. How should employers treat information concerning criminal history? 8. How should employers deal with credit information about a potential employee? 9. What are the main provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act? 10. What are the main provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act?
Chapter 6 concepts, Employment Testing: 1. What kind of different tests are available to employers? 2. When is a test valid under federal law? 3. What are the 3 types of test validation recognized by federal law? 4. Do public or private sector workers have the same protection under law from unreasonable searches and seizures? 5. What is the Drug Free Workplace Act? 6. What is genetic testing? 7. What are the major provisions of the Polygraph Protection Act? 8. What is the significance to testing of the case of Griggs v. Duke Power Company? 9. What are the rules surrounding drug testing of employees and applicants? 10. When can an employer demand that an applicant take a medical exam? 11. What is "norming" and is it legal?
EXAM #2 Starts Here
Chapter 7 concepts, Hiring and Promotion Decisions: 1. What are grounds for recognizing bfoqs? 2. What are sex-plus cases? 3. What is the relationship between the ADA and weight? 4. What is sex-stereotyping?. . .is it legal? 5. Are subjective selection criteria, such as interviews, subject to disparate treatment analysis? . . . disparate impact analysis? 6. What are the elements of promissory estoppel? 7. What is the glass ceiling? 8. What is the bfss defense?
Chapter 8 concepts, Affirmative Action: 1. What is affirmative action and how does it differ from reverse discrimination? 2. What are the various types of affirmative action and are they all equally controversial? 3. What are the lessons of the following cases? - University of California Regents v. Bakke; Weber v. United Steelworkers Union; Transportation Agency of Santa Clara County v. Joyce; Grutter v. Bollinger; Gratz v. Bollinger. 4. When does Executive Order 11246 apply? 5. How does "state action" affect voluntary affirmative action plans?
Chapter 9 concepts, Harassment: 1. What is the definition of sexual harassment? 2. What other types of harassment are there? 3. How does the concept of adverse (or tangible) employment action figure into a sexual harassment case? 4. What is the significance of the case of Vinson v. Meritor Savings Bank? 5. What law or laws make harassment illegal? 6. When does vicarious liability attach to an employer in a sexual harassment case based on a tangible employment action? . . . when there is no tangible employment action? 7. How should an employer protect itself from harassment claims?
Chapter 10 concepts, Reasonablely Accommodating Disability and Religion: 1. How is disability defined under the ADA? 2. What is the Vocational Rehabilitation Act? 3. What is meant by the term reasonable accommodation under the ADA? . . . under Title VII with respect to religious discrimination? 4. What is meant by the term undue hardship? 5. What is religious harassment, and how do some employers respond to it? 6. How are religious organizations treated specially under Title VII?
Chapter 11 concepts, Work-Life Conflicts and Other Diversity Issues: 1. What are the history and provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act?. . . when does it apply? 2. What are the provisions and history of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act? 3. What is USERRA? 4. Are English-only rules in the workplace legal? 5. Does Title VII protect people against discrimination based on sexual orientation?. . .what about the U.S. Constitution? 6. Does Title VII protect transgender and transsexual persons?
Chapter 12 concepts, Wages, Hours, and Pay Equity: 1. What are the 4 main parts of the FLSA? 2. When was this law passed? 2A. What is "enterprise coverage" under the FLSA? 3. Are all workers covered?. . .who is exempt? 4. How is overtime computed? 5. Is child labor illegal? 6. What is compensatory (or comp) time, and when is it legal instead of paying overtime? . . . how does it differ from compensable time? 7. What are The Davis-Bacon Act and the MSPA? 8. What are the provisions and weaknesses of the Equal Pay Act of 1963?. . . has it been effective? 9. What is the concept known as comparable worth, and is it the law? 10. What was the significance of FDR's Court Packing Plan?
Final Examination Begins Here
Chapter 13 concepts, Benefits: 1. What is ERISA and what does it cover? 2. Which federal agencies uphold what parts of ERISA? 3. What are the different types of pension plans, and how do they differ? 4. What is the PBGC and what does it cover? 5. What is HIPPA? 6. What is COBRA? 7. What is OWBPA? 8. What issues arise from managed care?
Chapter 14 concepts, Unions and Collective Bargaining: 1. What are the 4 major union statutes? . . . their official and common names?. . . which are pro-union, anti-union, neutral? . . . why? 2. What is a yellow dog contract? 3. How was the Sherman Act applied to unions? . . . how did the Clayton Act change things? 4. What is a common law exception to the Norris-LaGuardia Act? . . . a statutory exception? 5. What is a closed shop, union shop, agency shop? 6. What is collective bargaining? . . . impasse? . . . lockout? 7. Why do people join unions? 8. What is the state of the union movement in the U.S. today? 9. Why was the PATCO strike significant? 10. What was the Knights of Labor? . . .the AFL? . . .the CIO? . . .the AFL-CIO? 11. How does an economic strike differ from an unfair labor practice strike? 12. What is the Union Members' Bill of Rights? 13. What are right-to-work states?
Chapter 15 concepts, OSHA: 1. When and why was OSHA enacted? 2. What new agencies were established by OSHA? 3. What are the elements of an OSHA claim for violation of a safety standard? 4. What are the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations? 5. What is the general duty clause? 6. What are the elements of a claim for violation of the general duty clause? 7. What are ergonomic hazards? 8. When are OSHA inspections permitted under the 4th Amendment? 9. What are the elements of a workplace safety program? 10. What is the lesson of the Film Recovery Inc. case? 11. What are workers' compensation laws? 12. What did employers give up and what did they get from workers' compensation? . . . employees? 13. Can an employee ever sue her employer when she is injured on the job? 14. Can an injured employee sue anyone else?
Chapter 16 concepts, Performance Appraisals, Training, etc.:
1. Why do employers conduct performance appraisals? 2. What trouble can employers get into because of doing appraisals poorly? 3. Why are many employers attempting to use objective appraisal standards? 4. What are Cavaliere's two rules of performance appraisals? 5. What is the forced distribution method (used in Six Sigma and by ENRON)? 6. What are the strengths and weaknesses of forced distribution? 7. When is employee training mandated?
Chapter 17 concepts, Privacy on the Job: 1. What federal laws protect employee privacy? 2. What common law principles protect privacy? 3. What is the status of e-mail privacy at work? 4. Can employers run credit checks on potential employees? 5. How does the tort of defamation differ from the type of invasion of privacy known as public disclosure of private facts? . . . what other types of invasion of privacy are there? 6. What is the significance of the term "reasonable expectation of privacy"? 7. Should an employer notify employees of its intentions with respect to inspecting offices, etc.? . . . if so, how? 8. What are the main points of the Polygraph Protection Act? 9. What is the tort of false imprisonment?
Chapter 18 concepts, Terminating Employees: 1. How should an employee who is not at-will be terminated? 2. What are the requisites of an effective waiver of liability obtained from a terminated employee? 3. What is the so-called public policy exception to the employment-at-will doctrine? 4. What is constructive discharge? 5. What is an implied contract of employment and how can it be avoided? 6. What is the effect of a covenant of good faith and fair dealing in employment? 7. What is whistleblowing? 8. Can employees be fired for off-duty conduct? 9. How should terminations be handled?
Chapter 19 concepts, Downsizing, etc.: 1. How does the NLRA complicate decisions to downsize or close a business? 2. What are the principal provisions of the WARN Act? 3. How does a plant closing differ from a mass layoff? 4. What is a RIF and how are they generally treated by courts? 5. How does a plaintiff prove a case of age discrimination in the face of a RIF? 6. Why was there confusion over whether there can be adverse impact cases under the ADEA? 7. What fiduciary duty complications can arise under the OWBPA? 8. What are the main eligibility criteria for unemployment insurance? 9. When, if ever, are noncompetition agreements legal? 10. How does a nonsolicitation agreement differ from a noncompete agreement? 11. How can employers protect trade secrets? 12. What is a nondisparagement clause? 13. What is human capital and who should control it?
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Sample exam questions:
1. Strikes not authorized by the union are known as
a. lockouts
b. stonewall strikes
c. impasse strikes
d. wildcat strikes
2. Which of the following statutes did the U.S. Supreme Court declare unconstitutional?
a. the Taft-Hartley Act
b. the Norris-LaGuardia Act
c. the Wagner Act
d. none of the above was declared unconstitutional, they are all still law
3. Under ERISA in order for a plan to be a tax deductible qualified plan, the plan must be
approved by which federal authority?
a. IRS
b. Labor Department
c. Department of Commerce
d. (a) and (b) above
4. ERISA includes an insurance scheme to guarantee which is run by the __________.
a. FDIC
b. PBGC
c. FDIC
d. PBGC
5. The AFL-CIO can best be described as a(n)
a. international labor union
b. national labor union
c. a federation of national and international unions
d. a political party
6. Which of the following laws was originally considered to be pro-union?
a. the Taft-Hartley Act
b. the Norris-LaGuardia Act
c. the Wagner Act
d. none of the above was ever considered pro-union
7. Employers may permanently replace ____________ strikers.
a. unfair labor practice
b. economic
c. angry
d. no
8. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service was established under the
a. the Taft-Hartley Act
b. the Norris-LaGuardia Act
c. the Wagner Act
d. none of the above
9. If John works 36, 35, 46, and 44 hours during a 4-week period, how much overtime
has he worked (if any)?
a. 0 hours
b. 1 hour
c. 6 hours
d. 10 hours
True-False
10. "Bargaining in good faith" under the Wagner Act requires that the employer and employee
come to an agreement and to that end they must make concessions.
11. The approximate percentage of the workforce that is unionized today is 35%.
12. A defined-benefit pension plan is a pension plan that ensures eligible employees and
possibly their beneficiaries a specified monthly income for life.
13. The majority of newly created pension plans today are defined contribution plans.
14. At John's job, after 3 years you are entitled to nonforfeitable benefits under the plan; in
other words John's benefits after 3 years are "vested."
15. The "Union Members' Bill of Rights" is part of the Landrum-Griffin Act.
16. The minimum wage and the time-and-a-half overtime provision is part of the National
Industrial Recovery Act which replaced the Fair Labor Standards Act which had earlier
been declared unconstitutional.
17. The official name of the Norris-LaGuardia Act is the Federal Anti-Injunction Act.
18. Under current federal law, a union shop is illegal.
19. A state with a right to work law makes a person in a bargaining unit join a union and
pay dues regardless of the person's feelings about labor unions.
20. Most of the states in the United States, but very few Southern States, are right-to-work
states.
21. In the PATCO strike (Professional Air Traffic Controller's Organization) President Clinton
dismissed the strikers because the strike constituted a national emergency.
22. The Occupational Safety and Health Act established NIOSH (National Institute for Occup-
ational Safety and Health) to conduct research in workplace health and safety.
23. The OSHA provision that requires that employers furnish to each employee employment
and a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or
other serious physical harm is called the "general duty clause."
24. Worker's compensation does not protect workers whose on-the-job injury was caused by the
worker's contributory negligence.
25. Worker's compensation does not protect workers whose on-the-job injury was caused by conduct that shows that the worker assumed the risk of the injury.
26. The worker's compensation system is a state-run system, not a federal program.
27. Worker's compensation is what we called an example of "strict liability."
28. An employee injured on the job due to her employer's negligence may sue the employer for
such negligent conduct in addition to collecting worker's compensation benefits.
29. The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed during the Great Depression.
30. While employees are free to go on strike to promote their economic demands, employers
are not free to withdraw employment from employees (i.e. send them home) in order to
pressure them to accept the employer's demands.
31. The FLSA prohibits all forms of child labor.
32. The Equal Pay Act's provisions constitute part of the FLSA.
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