1. The HR department's legal responsibilities include:
a) monitoring the company's HR decisions.
b) rendering legal opinions as to the appropriateness of HR-related decisions.
c) undoing any damage created by line-managers poor decisions.
d) resolving problems caused by illegal or inappropriate decisions on HR-related matters.
e) assisting the legal department in preventing damage to the firm due to poor management decisions.
2. Typical court awards to victims of age, sex, race, or disability range from _____ depending on size of the employer.
a) $300,000 to $500,000
b) $350,000 to $400,000
c) $500,000 to $600,000
d) $50,000 to $300,000
e) $2.5 million to $10 million
3. HR legal environments are constantly changing. The court case that set the standard to place the burden of proof in employment discrimination on the company was:
a) Wards Cove Packing vs. Antonio.
b) Albemarle Paper Company vs. Moody.
c) against the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.
d) against Johnson Controls.
e) Griggs vs. Duke Power.
4. Understanding the legal landscape and HR law in business is very important. Managers need to be able to:
a) comply with most of the laws as they currently exist.
b) have a working knowledge of the laws and know how to comply with them.
c) hire full-time legal representatives.
d) take classes in HR law in order to protect their companies from legal action.
e) all of the above
5. Based on Supreme Court rulings, it seems safe to say that employers may:
a) make employment decisions solely on affirmative action criteria.
b) not make employment decisions solely on affirmative action criteria.
c) base employment decisions in part on affirmative action criteria.
d) never use affirmative action criteria in layoff situations.
e) always use affirmative action criteria in layoff situations.
6. What are differences that arise between ideal behavior strategy and affirmative action strategy in trying to achieve fair employment?
a) Affirmative action is based on the idea that decisions regarding employment need to be based solely on the basis of criteria such as race, religion, national origin, disability, etc. Ideal behavior ignores such criteria.
b) Ideal behavior strategy is based on the idea that decisions regarding employment need to be based, at least in part, on the basis of criteria such as race, religion, national origin, color, etc. Affirmative action is based solely upon these criteria.
c) Affirmative action is illegal in most states, while ideal behavior strategy is legal and encouraged in all large companies.
d) Affirmative action is based on the idea that decisions regarding employment need to be based, at least in part, on the basis of criteria such as, race, religion, national origin, disability, etc., while ideal behavior strategy encourages these decisions to made without consideration of these criteria.
e) Ideal behavior strategy claims that, while it is ideal not to resort to illegal discrimination in employment, sometimes this behavior is necessary. Affirmative action is not illegal under any circumstance.
7. When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was first put into effect, the majority of claims filed were by:
a) job applicants who had suffered discrimination.
b) pregnant women who had been dismissed because of their pregnancies.
c) attorneys for gay rights groups.
d) current employees injured on the job.
e) Asian-Americans and Hispanic-Americans.
8. The Equal Pay Act of 1963:
a) permits pay differences for quality and quantity of production.
b) prohibits the use of merit pay plans.
c) eliminated pay plans based on seniority.
d) requires that gender be considered on compensation issues.
e) has resulted in an increasing compensation gap between men and women.
9. Which of the following is a basis upon which it is permissible to pay a male employee more than a female employee doing essentially the same work?
a) When the female employee is white and the male employee is Asian-American.
b) When the two employees live in two separate geographical areas where the local costs of living vary greatly.
c) When the male employee must commute to work and the female employee does not.
d) When the female employee has children and must sometimes take unpaid leave in order to care for them.
e) When the female employee has supervisory responsibility over the male employee.
10. Which of the following compensation possibilities is NOT permissible under the Equal Pay Act?
a) Paying a man more than a woman when they are performing the same job in the same organization (or vice-versa).
b) Adopting a merit pay plan where a man can receive more pay than a woman if his work quality is significantly better than hers (or vice-versa).
c) Enforcing a seniority plan that pays a woman more per year if she has been with the company longer than a man (or vice-versa).
d) Paying a male employee more than a female employee if he has more responsibility and more job duties than she does (or vice-versa).
e) Paying a woman more than a man if she is living in a different geographical region in which the cost of living is considerably more than the region in which the male employee is living (or vice-versa).
11. On average, in 1999, women earned how much for each dollar earned by men?
a) $.50.
b) $.64.
c) $.70.
d) $.77.
e) $.85.
12. Dorothy discovers that her employer is paying female managers about 15% less than male managers with the same responsibilities. Dorothy's employer is violating:
a) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
b) the Americans with Disabilities Act.
c) the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
d) Executive Order 11246.
e) the Equal Pay Act.
13. Booker International keeps employee records, including their national origin and gender, because some of their work is with overseas customers who are concerned about these issues. This practice by Booker International:
a) is a clear prima facie case of discrimination.
b) is a violation of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.
c) represents a clear case of a BFOQ.
d) is a violation of the Equal Pay Act.
e) is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
14. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act applies to labor unions, employment agencies, and employers who have at least _____ employees.
a) 10
b) 15
c) 25
d) 50
e) 75
15. Which of the following is NOT a member of a protected class?
a) Sheena Thomas, a 25-year-old African-American woman.
b) Mark Chung, a 37-year-old Asian-American with a dependent child but no spouse.
c) Gib Johnson, a 38-year-old Caucasian male, Persian Gulf War veteran.
d) Peggy Sue Smith, a 47-year-old Caucasian female, naturalized U.S. citizen.
e) All of the above are members of protected classes.
16. SkySeekers, Inc. uses an employment test that seems to screen out a disproportionate number of young Asian-American women. If true, this practice would be an example of:
a) the four-fifths rule.
b) adverse impact.
c) disparate treatment.
d) unequal treatment.
e) different standards for different employment groups.
17. Which of the following is characteristic of adverse impact?
a) Neutral actions.
b) Prejudiced actions.
c) Unequal treatment.
d) Direct discrimination.
e) Different standards for different groups.
18. The Supreme Court case of Griggs vs. Duke Power concerned discrimination due to:
a) decision rules with a racial/sexual premise or cause.
b) prejudiced actions.
c) different standards for different groups.
d) indirect discrimination.
e) unequal treatment.
19. Cody is a middle manager with Corwell Corporation. When on a business trip with other middle managers, Cody is required to fly coach while the other managers at his same level are permitted to fly first class. Cody is Hispanic, while his boss and the other managers are black. This is:
a) an example of adverse impact.
b) a case of a hostile working environment.
c) an example of disparate treatment.
d) not illegal since all parties are members of a protected class.
e) a violation of OSHA.
20. B.J. is among a group of 25 applicants for a manager's position. As part of the selection process, all applicants take an exam. It is apparent from the results that black applicants tend to score lower than any other subgroup. B.J. is black and is not selected because of his test score. B.J. may have grounds to sue due to:
a) disparate treatment.
b) adverse impact.
c) the violation of Executive Order 11246.
d) a violation of the discrimination prohibitions in the Vocational Rehabilitation Act.
e) unintended consequences.
21. The primary difference between disparate treatment and disparate impact, according to federal regulation, is that:
a) the former is a result, the latter a consequence. Neither is illegal.
b) the former is illegal, the latter is not.
c) the former is legal, the latter is not.
d) the former is deliberate, the latter is consequential, but both are illegal.
e) none. There is no practical difference between the two.
22. The Supreme Court case, Albemarle Paper Company vs. Moody, ruled that:
a) all employment interviews were illegal.
b) the four-fifths rule must be applied in only selective cases of clear discrimination.
c) employment tests must be valid predictors of job performance.
d) disparate treatment was illegal.
e) age discrimination was illegal.