1. You are the judge hearing a case where an employee has been terminated and has filed a wrongful termination complaint. The employee was the sole African-American customer service representative at the firm, who had a lengthy record of good evaluations. However, she received more negative evaluations over a period of three years after a new supervisor was hired, though the more stringent requirements that were applied to her were not applied to white employees. After 3 years, the employee was then selected for termination in a downsizing based on her previous 3 years' evaluations. Based on this evidence, what should you decide?
a. you should in favor of the employer because the termination was based on performance appraisals rather than race
b. you should grant in favor of the employer because a discrimination claim based on performance appraisals going back three years was no longer timely
c. you should rule in favor of employee to go to trial because African-Americans disproportionately received low performance ratings in this company
d. you should rule in favor of the employee because the termination was based on performance appraisals that were tainted by consideration of the employee's race which should never be a consideration
2. OSHA's hazard communication standard is based on
a. specific content and methodology regarding the training of employees in hazards that they might reasonably encounter on the job
b. principle of an employee's "right to know" and provides that employers maintain material safety data sheets for all hazardous chemicals used in the workplace
c. that employers provide employees with information about evacuation routes and other emergency procedures
3. Which of the following is most true regarding performance appraisals?
a. employers are legally required to conduct performance appraisalson all employees
b. employers should appraise some employees randomly and not others
c. performance appraisals can become key pieces of evidence in discrimination cases against employers
d. an inaccurate performance appraisal will always creates liability for the employer
4. Performance appraisals:
a. should cite specific instances of both good or bad performance
b. should never contain subjective language strongly criticizing an employee's performance
c. should only consist of numerical ratings because these are more objective
5. In regards to performance appraisals, which statement is incorrect?
a. Employers have a duty to conduct performance appraisals
b. Employers do not have a duty to conduct performance appraisals
c. Courts will not recognize a claim for a negative appraisal which was deserved