BLAW 3301- Exam 1 Questions With Complete Solutions
•Independent Contractors Correct Answers •The economic
realities test focuses on the market for the contractor's services
to distinguish between employees and independent contractors.
The test considers 7 questions.
•The common law test emphasizes right of control to distinguish
between employees and independent contractors, and includes:
•1. The extent of the hiring party's right to control the manner
and means by which the work is done
•2. The level of skill required
•3. The source of necessary tools and materials
•4. The location of the work
•5. The duration of the work
•6. The extent of the hiring party's right to assign additional
projects to the hired party
•7. The extent of the hired party's discretion over when and how
long to work
•8. The method of payment
•9. The hired party's role in hiring and paying assistants
•10. The extent to which the work is part of the regular business
of the hiring party
•11. Whether the hiring party is in business
•12. Whether benefits of any kind are provided to the hired party
•13. The tax treatment of the hired party
•Major Federal Antidiscrimination statutes: Correct Answers
•Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964
•Equal Pay Act (EPA)
•Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
•Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)
,•Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
•Must the Employee Exhaust Internal Dispute Resolution
Mechanisms Before Proceeding? Correct Answers •The law is
changing regarding the answer to this question
•An employer may escape liability for harassment by a
supervisor if an employee unreasonably refuses to avail herself
of the employer's complaint procedure
•A more fundamental change has been the rise of alternative
dispute resolution (ADR) procedures to replace lawsuits,
including mediation and arbitration
•Pretext: Indirect Method of Analyzing Disparate Treatment
Cases Correct Answers •In McDonnell Douglas v. Green, the
Supreme Court provided a method for deciding pretext cases
•The method is "indirect" because it focuses on ruling out other
nondiscriminatory explanations, which leads to a showing that
discrimination is the most likely cause
•Direct evidence may be "smoking gun" evidence, though this is
rare today
•Usually, cases turn on circumstantial evidence, which hints at
the possibility of discrimination, but by itself is not sufficient to
compel that conclusion
•Examples:
•Statements made by company officials suggesting bias
•Information about prior mistreatment of employees
•Direct Method of Analyzing Disparate Treatment Cases
, •With sufficient evidence of a discriminatory motive, either
direct or circumstantial, plaintiffs can prevail without showing
pretext, at least with laws that permit a mixed motives analysis
•Subordinate Bias Theory of Liability ("Cat's paw")
•The discriminatory motive of a subordinate can result in
liability even though decision-making authority lies elsewhere
•Students and Interns Correct Answers •If work is performed
for educational institutions by students, at least partly for
educational purposes, are those people employees, students, or
both?
•Most recently, the NLRB concluded that:
•Graduate teaching and research assistants are employees (as
well as students)
•Student athletes have the right to unionize
Agency Correct Answers •As a general rule, employers are
legally responsible for the actions of their employees, so must
carefully select, train, monitor them and review their actions
•Employer liability is usually limited to employee actions taken
within the scope of employment:
•Actions that relate to the kind of work the employee was hired
to perform
•Take place substantially within the workplace during work
hours
•Serve at least partially the interests of the employer
Analyzing Disparate Impact Cases Correct Answers •A neutral
requirement or practice refers to anything other than protected
class characteristics used as grounds for making employment
decisions
•Independent Contractors Correct Answers •The economic
realities test focuses on the market for the contractor's services
to distinguish between employees and independent contractors.
The test considers 7 questions.
•The common law test emphasizes right of control to distinguish
between employees and independent contractors, and includes:
•1. The extent of the hiring party's right to control the manner
and means by which the work is done
•2. The level of skill required
•3. The source of necessary tools and materials
•4. The location of the work
•5. The duration of the work
•6. The extent of the hiring party's right to assign additional
projects to the hired party
•7. The extent of the hired party's discretion over when and how
long to work
•8. The method of payment
•9. The hired party's role in hiring and paying assistants
•10. The extent to which the work is part of the regular business
of the hiring party
•11. Whether the hiring party is in business
•12. Whether benefits of any kind are provided to the hired party
•13. The tax treatment of the hired party
•Major Federal Antidiscrimination statutes: Correct Answers
•Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964
•Equal Pay Act (EPA)
•Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
•Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)
,•Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
•Must the Employee Exhaust Internal Dispute Resolution
Mechanisms Before Proceeding? Correct Answers •The law is
changing regarding the answer to this question
•An employer may escape liability for harassment by a
supervisor if an employee unreasonably refuses to avail herself
of the employer's complaint procedure
•A more fundamental change has been the rise of alternative
dispute resolution (ADR) procedures to replace lawsuits,
including mediation and arbitration
•Pretext: Indirect Method of Analyzing Disparate Treatment
Cases Correct Answers •In McDonnell Douglas v. Green, the
Supreme Court provided a method for deciding pretext cases
•The method is "indirect" because it focuses on ruling out other
nondiscriminatory explanations, which leads to a showing that
discrimination is the most likely cause
•Direct evidence may be "smoking gun" evidence, though this is
rare today
•Usually, cases turn on circumstantial evidence, which hints at
the possibility of discrimination, but by itself is not sufficient to
compel that conclusion
•Examples:
•Statements made by company officials suggesting bias
•Information about prior mistreatment of employees
•Direct Method of Analyzing Disparate Treatment Cases
, •With sufficient evidence of a discriminatory motive, either
direct or circumstantial, plaintiffs can prevail without showing
pretext, at least with laws that permit a mixed motives analysis
•Subordinate Bias Theory of Liability ("Cat's paw")
•The discriminatory motive of a subordinate can result in
liability even though decision-making authority lies elsewhere
•Students and Interns Correct Answers •If work is performed
for educational institutions by students, at least partly for
educational purposes, are those people employees, students, or
both?
•Most recently, the NLRB concluded that:
•Graduate teaching and research assistants are employees (as
well as students)
•Student athletes have the right to unionize
Agency Correct Answers •As a general rule, employers are
legally responsible for the actions of their employees, so must
carefully select, train, monitor them and review their actions
•Employer liability is usually limited to employee actions taken
within the scope of employment:
•Actions that relate to the kind of work the employee was hired
to perform
•Take place substantially within the workplace during work
hours
•Serve at least partially the interests of the employer
Analyzing Disparate Impact Cases Correct Answers •A neutral
requirement or practice refers to anything other than protected
class characteristics used as grounds for making employment
decisions
