WGU C233 EMPLOYMENT LAW ACTUAL EXAM 2
VERSIONS COMPLETE 550 QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED
VERIFIED ANSWERS (100% CORRECT ANSWERS)
/ALREADY GRADED A+
Labor Law - ANSWER: Defined in terms of federal legislation, primarily the National
Labor Relations Act, governs collective bargaining and union representation.
Employment Law - ANSWER: Diverse body of state and federal law that regulates
individual employment relations.
Low Velocity Markets - ANSWER: Workers say with the same company for most of
their career and advance within.
High Velocity Markets - ANSWER: People moving from company to company
throughout their careers to advance. Also involves high tech labor markets.
Empty State- Nobody's Market (Collins) - ANSWER: Only direct and specific acts of
govt officials acting intentionally are govt action. Govt can't be responsible for every
persons power, must draw a line to limit pub responsibility
Collins v. Harker Heights
F: EE dies of asphyxiation while working in manhole. Wife said company violated his
const right to be free from unreasonable risk for not training him properly. -
ANSWER: H: The law does not apply b/c the conduct does not violate the DP clause.
EE voluntarily accepted the employment and a good salary that paid for the risk he
took. State had to choose how to allocate resources and chose not to spend on
safety and training.
Independent Contractors - ANSWER: Right of Controls: 1) Controls details of work, 2)
Type of work - stable EE or quick hire? 3) Tools - Who provides them? 4) Location -
Where is the work done? 5) Skills - How difficult and unique is the skill? 6) Length of
employment, 7) Form of pay - Hourly? Per job? 8) Is the work done in the regular
course of the business?
Worker Owners - ANSWER: Workers doing the work of employees but who happen
to be the owners of the investment. (True Worker owners called Cooperative
Ownership
Cooperative Ownership - ANSWER: 1) 1 wrker = 1 share = 1 vote. All ownership is by
owners. 2) Decisions/majority votes, often hire separate management. 3)
Fire/Buyout - Workers fired by majority vote and must be bought out. 4) Termination
= Any time a worker is bought out it must be at Market Value. 5) Profit/Loss per
,share - Workers share profits and losses for earnings. 6) Subject to state and federal
laws for employees.
Fair Labor Standards Act (Characteristics) - ANSWER: 1) Minimum Wage set at
$5.15/hr. anything over 40 is overtime.
2) Earnings >1/2 million
3) Exemptions - People with irregular hours are exempt from overtime provisions.
4) No preemption - State must be > minimum wage.
ERISA (Characteristics) - ANSWER: 1) Future Benefit Plans
2) Preempts State Laws, except health. Only present health benefits insurance is not
preempted.
3) §404 - Fiduciary obligations - Duties of administrators is that they have fiduciary
obligation to the participants.
4) §502 - Suits/Participant Beneficiary - Permits different suits under different
circumstances on behalf of participants to ensure fund is acting properly.
Unemployment Insurance Program - ANSWER: ERs pay in based on high rating, the
more an ER fires an EE when EE not at fault, the higher
the payments—this incentivizes and ER "searching" for cause when it may not exist.
To qualify, 1) EE must work for 17 weeks, 2) register with state unemployment
service, 3) and must be able and available for work (that is, go to unemployment
office and tell them you are looking for a job).
EEs may recover when locked out, but not when on strike (compare with food
stamp/strike case, Lyng.) One is disqualified from receiving benefits if voluntarily
unemployed, may not refuse suitable work without good cause. Good cause includes
risk, skills, prior training, earning, distance from work, duration of
unemployment.
FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) - ANSWER: 1) Applies to ER's with more than 50
employees.
2) Applies only to EE's who worked at least 1250 hours during a year.
3) Allows for private suits for violations. Similar to NRLA where the Sec of Labor can
take over suit if the person does not have the means.
4) Act ensures care for self, child, pregnancy, spouse, parent - up to 12 weeks leave.
5) Serious illnesses - only leave for serious illnesses.
6) Intermittent - Don't need to take leave all at once. Serious illness of self or a
dependent requires intermittent leave.
7) Must give notice to ER to use leave, ER can require doctors certificate specifying
illness and reasons you cant work. ER can pay for up to 2 other opinions if they don't
like the one you got.
Worker's Compensation - ANSWER: 1) State law - Workers comp is a state fund.
State law requires you have one or the other. (State fund or self insurance)
2) ER -Either pay into state fund or self insure. Self insuring cheaper if you never have
accidents otherwise the state fund is cheaper.
3) No tort claims unless gross negligence or Intentional harms by ER.
,4) Sched of Damages - Tells what you get for what injuries.
5) Job caused illness or injury
OSHA (29 USC 15) - ANSWER: Enforces job safety standards for workers.
Compensation of workers for job injuries is left up to state law. However, legislative
intent is to encourage ER's and EE's in efforts to reduce number of safety and health
hazards at workplace. Const. power from commerce clause. OSHA commission
established to do research (asbestos, etc) and provide grants to states to encourage
state enforcement. As a general rule, ER's must make sure EE's are free from
dangerous environments. OSHA can penalize ER's for $1-$7,000 a day for not
remedying a violation on good faith of ER, gravity of violation, past compliance, and
size of ER.
OSHA (Process) - ANSWER: Sec of Labor files suit against ER, ER may appeal to a 3
member OSHA commission who reviews de novo, then appealable to circuit court of
appeal, then supreme court.
At-Will-Employment - ANSWER: Can be fired at any time for good reason, bad reason
or no reason at all.
At-Will-Employment Exceptions - ANSWER: 1) Prom. Estoppel - A promise that meets
the requirements.
2) Additional Considerations - EE offers add. considerations such as agreeing to do
extra work or services in addition to normal tasks.
3) Implied in Fact K - Handbooks- If handbook promises discharge only for cause.
4) Implied in Law K - Includes a clause of good faith and fair dealing - Discharge for
no reason or bad reason would be a violation of GF&FD.
5) Contract v. Public Policy - K discharge may be void as against public policy
sounding as a K claim.
6) Tort v. Public Policy - Certain discharge is void against public policy sounding in
tort, this allows both consequential and punitive damages.
7) Independent Tort involved in the discharge - Intentional infliction of emotional
distress.
JUST CAUSE (Reasons that justify firing someone) - ANSWER: 1) Business judgment -
Lost sales, need to fire someone; Fitness of employee to enterprise - Lazy, doesn't do
well.
2) Disloyalty - Insuboridnation - If EE is disloyal, insubordinate or disruptive, this
justifies employee termination.
3) Violence - Illegal - If EE is engaged in violence or illegality, these are good cause
reasons for discharge.
Just Cause Legislation - ANSWER: 1) Uniform Law Commissioner's Model Termination
Act (1991)
2) Montana Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act
, Uniform Law Commissioner's Model Termination Act - ANSWER: Good cause defined
broadly to favor ERs: "reasonable basis in view of relevant facts and circumstances."
ER must act in good faith, EE may seek arbitration and ER may respond, filing
counter-claim arguing good cause; EE burden to prove lack of good cause. The
arbitration system is procedurally efficient, cheap, quick and arbitrators specialize.
ER and EE agree on arbitrator, remedies for EE include reinstatement, lost wages,
severance, but not for emotional distress, defamation, fraud or other common
law/state type actions. Reinstatement is the preferred remedy.
-Effects: at-will Ks done away with in most states (excluding FL and TX), Ps win 70%
of discharge cases under arbitration system, but most of them due to better
representation, high paid job positions and better counsel.
MONTANA Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act - ANSWER: More pro-EE,
codifying MT common law, punitive damages available. Go to arbitration only if
both sides agree to. Good cause defined as "reasonable job-related grounds for
dismissal based on a failure to satisfactorily perform job duties, disruption of ER's
operation or other legitimate business reasons" (Narrower and more pro-EE than
uniform Act above). EE may recover wages and benefits for 4 years and recover AND
recover punitive damages in situations of ER fraud/malice. EE must exhaust internal
procedures before filing wrongful discharge suit under the act.
WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice) Act - ANSWER: Only applies to
employers w/ more than 50 employees. WARN act requires that employer give
employees either a 60 day notice of either a reduction of intent to close, or if 60 days
is not provided, to provide the equivalent in pay for 60 days employment.
2 exceptions:
1) prove they were seeking alternative capital import or business that would avoid
or postpone the shutdown, and that giving notice would interfere w/ ability to raise
capital,
2) Bus circumstance is not reasonably foreseeable, if closing is not foreseeable, than
business doesn't have to give 60 day notice.
Lyng v. International Union (UAW)
F: Union workers stopped working (strike) for bargaining. They were denied Food
Stamps under the Food Stamp Act - ANSWER: H: Food Stamp act is constitutional, if
you give the workers food stamps you are providing them with a government
subsidy thereby making them take a side. Unions should provide for their members.
Int. Brotherhood Teamsters v. Daniel
F: Union says workers pension should be considered a security and should receive
full disclosure of all information reported to SEC. - ANSWER: H: Not entitled to
disclosure. Howey test: (A security is the presence of an investment in a common
venture premised on a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the
VERSIONS COMPLETE 550 QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED
VERIFIED ANSWERS (100% CORRECT ANSWERS)
/ALREADY GRADED A+
Labor Law - ANSWER: Defined in terms of federal legislation, primarily the National
Labor Relations Act, governs collective bargaining and union representation.
Employment Law - ANSWER: Diverse body of state and federal law that regulates
individual employment relations.
Low Velocity Markets - ANSWER: Workers say with the same company for most of
their career and advance within.
High Velocity Markets - ANSWER: People moving from company to company
throughout their careers to advance. Also involves high tech labor markets.
Empty State- Nobody's Market (Collins) - ANSWER: Only direct and specific acts of
govt officials acting intentionally are govt action. Govt can't be responsible for every
persons power, must draw a line to limit pub responsibility
Collins v. Harker Heights
F: EE dies of asphyxiation while working in manhole. Wife said company violated his
const right to be free from unreasonable risk for not training him properly. -
ANSWER: H: The law does not apply b/c the conduct does not violate the DP clause.
EE voluntarily accepted the employment and a good salary that paid for the risk he
took. State had to choose how to allocate resources and chose not to spend on
safety and training.
Independent Contractors - ANSWER: Right of Controls: 1) Controls details of work, 2)
Type of work - stable EE or quick hire? 3) Tools - Who provides them? 4) Location -
Where is the work done? 5) Skills - How difficult and unique is the skill? 6) Length of
employment, 7) Form of pay - Hourly? Per job? 8) Is the work done in the regular
course of the business?
Worker Owners - ANSWER: Workers doing the work of employees but who happen
to be the owners of the investment. (True Worker owners called Cooperative
Ownership
Cooperative Ownership - ANSWER: 1) 1 wrker = 1 share = 1 vote. All ownership is by
owners. 2) Decisions/majority votes, often hire separate management. 3)
Fire/Buyout - Workers fired by majority vote and must be bought out. 4) Termination
= Any time a worker is bought out it must be at Market Value. 5) Profit/Loss per
,share - Workers share profits and losses for earnings. 6) Subject to state and federal
laws for employees.
Fair Labor Standards Act (Characteristics) - ANSWER: 1) Minimum Wage set at
$5.15/hr. anything over 40 is overtime.
2) Earnings >1/2 million
3) Exemptions - People with irregular hours are exempt from overtime provisions.
4) No preemption - State must be > minimum wage.
ERISA (Characteristics) - ANSWER: 1) Future Benefit Plans
2) Preempts State Laws, except health. Only present health benefits insurance is not
preempted.
3) §404 - Fiduciary obligations - Duties of administrators is that they have fiduciary
obligation to the participants.
4) §502 - Suits/Participant Beneficiary - Permits different suits under different
circumstances on behalf of participants to ensure fund is acting properly.
Unemployment Insurance Program - ANSWER: ERs pay in based on high rating, the
more an ER fires an EE when EE not at fault, the higher
the payments—this incentivizes and ER "searching" for cause when it may not exist.
To qualify, 1) EE must work for 17 weeks, 2) register with state unemployment
service, 3) and must be able and available for work (that is, go to unemployment
office and tell them you are looking for a job).
EEs may recover when locked out, but not when on strike (compare with food
stamp/strike case, Lyng.) One is disqualified from receiving benefits if voluntarily
unemployed, may not refuse suitable work without good cause. Good cause includes
risk, skills, prior training, earning, distance from work, duration of
unemployment.
FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) - ANSWER: 1) Applies to ER's with more than 50
employees.
2) Applies only to EE's who worked at least 1250 hours during a year.
3) Allows for private suits for violations. Similar to NRLA where the Sec of Labor can
take over suit if the person does not have the means.
4) Act ensures care for self, child, pregnancy, spouse, parent - up to 12 weeks leave.
5) Serious illnesses - only leave for serious illnesses.
6) Intermittent - Don't need to take leave all at once. Serious illness of self or a
dependent requires intermittent leave.
7) Must give notice to ER to use leave, ER can require doctors certificate specifying
illness and reasons you cant work. ER can pay for up to 2 other opinions if they don't
like the one you got.
Worker's Compensation - ANSWER: 1) State law - Workers comp is a state fund.
State law requires you have one or the other. (State fund or self insurance)
2) ER -Either pay into state fund or self insure. Self insuring cheaper if you never have
accidents otherwise the state fund is cheaper.
3) No tort claims unless gross negligence or Intentional harms by ER.
,4) Sched of Damages - Tells what you get for what injuries.
5) Job caused illness or injury
OSHA (29 USC 15) - ANSWER: Enforces job safety standards for workers.
Compensation of workers for job injuries is left up to state law. However, legislative
intent is to encourage ER's and EE's in efforts to reduce number of safety and health
hazards at workplace. Const. power from commerce clause. OSHA commission
established to do research (asbestos, etc) and provide grants to states to encourage
state enforcement. As a general rule, ER's must make sure EE's are free from
dangerous environments. OSHA can penalize ER's for $1-$7,000 a day for not
remedying a violation on good faith of ER, gravity of violation, past compliance, and
size of ER.
OSHA (Process) - ANSWER: Sec of Labor files suit against ER, ER may appeal to a 3
member OSHA commission who reviews de novo, then appealable to circuit court of
appeal, then supreme court.
At-Will-Employment - ANSWER: Can be fired at any time for good reason, bad reason
or no reason at all.
At-Will-Employment Exceptions - ANSWER: 1) Prom. Estoppel - A promise that meets
the requirements.
2) Additional Considerations - EE offers add. considerations such as agreeing to do
extra work or services in addition to normal tasks.
3) Implied in Fact K - Handbooks- If handbook promises discharge only for cause.
4) Implied in Law K - Includes a clause of good faith and fair dealing - Discharge for
no reason or bad reason would be a violation of GF&FD.
5) Contract v. Public Policy - K discharge may be void as against public policy
sounding as a K claim.
6) Tort v. Public Policy - Certain discharge is void against public policy sounding in
tort, this allows both consequential and punitive damages.
7) Independent Tort involved in the discharge - Intentional infliction of emotional
distress.
JUST CAUSE (Reasons that justify firing someone) - ANSWER: 1) Business judgment -
Lost sales, need to fire someone; Fitness of employee to enterprise - Lazy, doesn't do
well.
2) Disloyalty - Insuboridnation - If EE is disloyal, insubordinate or disruptive, this
justifies employee termination.
3) Violence - Illegal - If EE is engaged in violence or illegality, these are good cause
reasons for discharge.
Just Cause Legislation - ANSWER: 1) Uniform Law Commissioner's Model Termination
Act (1991)
2) Montana Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act
, Uniform Law Commissioner's Model Termination Act - ANSWER: Good cause defined
broadly to favor ERs: "reasonable basis in view of relevant facts and circumstances."
ER must act in good faith, EE may seek arbitration and ER may respond, filing
counter-claim arguing good cause; EE burden to prove lack of good cause. The
arbitration system is procedurally efficient, cheap, quick and arbitrators specialize.
ER and EE agree on arbitrator, remedies for EE include reinstatement, lost wages,
severance, but not for emotional distress, defamation, fraud or other common
law/state type actions. Reinstatement is the preferred remedy.
-Effects: at-will Ks done away with in most states (excluding FL and TX), Ps win 70%
of discharge cases under arbitration system, but most of them due to better
representation, high paid job positions and better counsel.
MONTANA Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act - ANSWER: More pro-EE,
codifying MT common law, punitive damages available. Go to arbitration only if
both sides agree to. Good cause defined as "reasonable job-related grounds for
dismissal based on a failure to satisfactorily perform job duties, disruption of ER's
operation or other legitimate business reasons" (Narrower and more pro-EE than
uniform Act above). EE may recover wages and benefits for 4 years and recover AND
recover punitive damages in situations of ER fraud/malice. EE must exhaust internal
procedures before filing wrongful discharge suit under the act.
WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice) Act - ANSWER: Only applies to
employers w/ more than 50 employees. WARN act requires that employer give
employees either a 60 day notice of either a reduction of intent to close, or if 60 days
is not provided, to provide the equivalent in pay for 60 days employment.
2 exceptions:
1) prove they were seeking alternative capital import or business that would avoid
or postpone the shutdown, and that giving notice would interfere w/ ability to raise
capital,
2) Bus circumstance is not reasonably foreseeable, if closing is not foreseeable, than
business doesn't have to give 60 day notice.
Lyng v. International Union (UAW)
F: Union workers stopped working (strike) for bargaining. They were denied Food
Stamps under the Food Stamp Act - ANSWER: H: Food Stamp act is constitutional, if
you give the workers food stamps you are providing them with a government
subsidy thereby making them take a side. Unions should provide for their members.
Int. Brotherhood Teamsters v. Daniel
F: Union says workers pension should be considered a security and should receive
full disclosure of all information reported to SEC. - ANSWER: H: Not entitled to
disclosure. Howey test: (A security is the presence of an investment in a common
venture premised on a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the
