HRM 6698: EMPLOYMENT LAW QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ACCURATE ANSWERS
Reasons why it makes sense to be an equal opportunity employer. - Answers - 1.
Federal laws provide for a variety of penalties for organizations that violate such laws
2. It's just in the organization's best interest to hire the most qualified applicant for any
job, or to promote the most qualified individual, regardless of factors that do not impact
the individual's ability to perform the job in question
True or false: Contrary to popular belief, most employees in the U.S. receive very
limited protection against unfair treatment at work. - Answers - True - this is because of
the "employment-at-will" relationship
True or false: Cursory "two-week notices" are required by law, and the employer needs
to give an employee advance notice about the termination of their employment. -
Answers - false - CAN FIRE AT ANY TIME.
What are the five exceptions to employment-at-will? - Answers - 1. Conditions specified
in a collective-bargaining agreement (union contract)
2. Express written contracts between an employee and employer that are not part of a
collective-bargaining agreement
3. Terms of implied contracts between an employer and employees
4. Judicially determined "public policy exemptions" to employment-at-will
5. Federal and state statutes that expressly prohibit the discrimination against
individuals who are members of certain protected classes
Why would a company issue an implied contract for employment relationship? -
Answers - To provide some reassurance to an employee or group of employees that
their employment cannot be terminated - usually found in an organizatin's handbook or
policy manual, or through some oral promise
The most frequent public policy exemption to the employment-at-will contract is
____________________. - Answers - whistleblowing, as well as refusal to commit an
illegal or unethical act, exercising legal rights like filing a worker's compensation claim,
good-faith assistance of a coworker who has filed a claim against the employer, the
performance of a legal civic duty (like jury duty)
Individual states can pass their own employment laws supplement to federal laws as
long as.... - Answers - They do not violate or contradict federal laws
, True or false: The process of discrimination in hiring, in and of itself, is not an illegal
action - Answers - TRUE - To discriminate simply means "to make or note a distinction"
as employers do all the time
It becomes illegal when it is directed at groups that Congress has decided to protect
under federal law.
The first law passed by Congress that impacted the employment relationship was... -
Answers - The Civil Rights Act of 1866
This law gave all citizens "the right to enter into contracts as 'white citizens'" - black
people to gain employment on an equal basis as white people
But no remedies for unjust treatment provided in this law when it was passed, and racial
discrimination obviously didn't end.
Civil Rights Act of 1871 - Answers - law that gave Americans the right to sue anyone
trying to restrict their constitutional rights (Civil Rights Act of 1866)
Equal Pay Act of 1963 - Answers - Legislation that requires employers to pay men and
women equal pay for equal work (equal skill, effort, and responsibility)
Four exclusions to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 - Answers - 1. A bona fide seniority
system (meaning it must not be self-serving as a means of facilitating wage
discrimination, must be existing, legitimate, and enforced)
2. Difference in Quality of Performance (if an employer can show that men perform at
higher levels than woman, then the pay differential is justified. This can be problematic
in how subjective assessments of performance are, though).
3. Pay Plans that are based on quantity of output (like "piece=rate" systems, somewhat
like commission-based salary)
4. "Factors Other Than Sex" (Congress realizing they couldn't anticipate every
contingency, gives employers some latittude if they have some other reason for
differentials)
Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Answers - outlawed discrimination based on race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin
Title VII pertains directly to employment
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Answers - Forbids discrimination on the basis of
sex, race, color, religion, or national origin in all areas of the employment relationship -
VERIFIED ACCURATE ANSWERS
Reasons why it makes sense to be an equal opportunity employer. - Answers - 1.
Federal laws provide for a variety of penalties for organizations that violate such laws
2. It's just in the organization's best interest to hire the most qualified applicant for any
job, or to promote the most qualified individual, regardless of factors that do not impact
the individual's ability to perform the job in question
True or false: Contrary to popular belief, most employees in the U.S. receive very
limited protection against unfair treatment at work. - Answers - True - this is because of
the "employment-at-will" relationship
True or false: Cursory "two-week notices" are required by law, and the employer needs
to give an employee advance notice about the termination of their employment. -
Answers - false - CAN FIRE AT ANY TIME.
What are the five exceptions to employment-at-will? - Answers - 1. Conditions specified
in a collective-bargaining agreement (union contract)
2. Express written contracts between an employee and employer that are not part of a
collective-bargaining agreement
3. Terms of implied contracts between an employer and employees
4. Judicially determined "public policy exemptions" to employment-at-will
5. Federal and state statutes that expressly prohibit the discrimination against
individuals who are members of certain protected classes
Why would a company issue an implied contract for employment relationship? -
Answers - To provide some reassurance to an employee or group of employees that
their employment cannot be terminated - usually found in an organizatin's handbook or
policy manual, or through some oral promise
The most frequent public policy exemption to the employment-at-will contract is
____________________. - Answers - whistleblowing, as well as refusal to commit an
illegal or unethical act, exercising legal rights like filing a worker's compensation claim,
good-faith assistance of a coworker who has filed a claim against the employer, the
performance of a legal civic duty (like jury duty)
Individual states can pass their own employment laws supplement to federal laws as
long as.... - Answers - They do not violate or contradict federal laws
, True or false: The process of discrimination in hiring, in and of itself, is not an illegal
action - Answers - TRUE - To discriminate simply means "to make or note a distinction"
as employers do all the time
It becomes illegal when it is directed at groups that Congress has decided to protect
under federal law.
The first law passed by Congress that impacted the employment relationship was... -
Answers - The Civil Rights Act of 1866
This law gave all citizens "the right to enter into contracts as 'white citizens'" - black
people to gain employment on an equal basis as white people
But no remedies for unjust treatment provided in this law when it was passed, and racial
discrimination obviously didn't end.
Civil Rights Act of 1871 - Answers - law that gave Americans the right to sue anyone
trying to restrict their constitutional rights (Civil Rights Act of 1866)
Equal Pay Act of 1963 - Answers - Legislation that requires employers to pay men and
women equal pay for equal work (equal skill, effort, and responsibility)
Four exclusions to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 - Answers - 1. A bona fide seniority
system (meaning it must not be self-serving as a means of facilitating wage
discrimination, must be existing, legitimate, and enforced)
2. Difference in Quality of Performance (if an employer can show that men perform at
higher levels than woman, then the pay differential is justified. This can be problematic
in how subjective assessments of performance are, though).
3. Pay Plans that are based on quantity of output (like "piece=rate" systems, somewhat
like commission-based salary)
4. "Factors Other Than Sex" (Congress realizing they couldn't anticipate every
contingency, gives employers some latittude if they have some other reason for
differentials)
Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Answers - outlawed discrimination based on race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin
Title VII pertains directly to employment
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Answers - Forbids discrimination on the basis of
sex, race, color, religion, or national origin in all areas of the employment relationship -
