Chapter 24 Vocabulary

Question 1

A common law doctrine under which either party may terminate an employment relationship at any time for any reason, unless a contract specifies otherwise.

Answer 1

Employment at Will

Question 2

An employee’s disclosure to government authorities, upper level managers, or the media that the employer is engaged in unsafe or illegal activities.

Answer 2

Whistleblowing

Question 3

An employer’s termination of an employee’s employment in violation of the law or an employment contract.

Answer 3

Wrongful Discharge

Question 4

The lowest wage, either by government regulation or union contract, that an employer may pay an hourly worker.

Answer 4

Minimum Wage

Question 5

State statutes that establish an administrative process for compensating workers for injuries that arise in the course of their employment, regardless of fault.

Answer 5

Workers’ Compensation Laws

Question 6

The creation of absolute or unconditional right of power.

Answer 6

Vesting

Question 7

The process of verifying the employment eligibility and identity of a new worker. It must be completed within three days after the worker commences employment.

Answer 7

I-9 Verification

Question 8

A document, known as a “green card,” that shows that a foreign-born individual can legally work in the United States.

Answer 8

I-551 Alien Registration Receipt

Question 9

A firm that requires union membership by it’s workers as a condition of employment.

Answer 9

Closed Shop

Question 10

A firm that requires all workers, once employed, to become union members within specified period of time as a condition of their continued employment.

Answer 10

Union Shop

Question 11

A state law providing that employees may not be required to join a union as a condition of retaining employment.

Answer 11

Right-to-Work Law

Question 12

An illegal agreement in which employers voluntarily agree with union not to handle, use, or deal in the nonunion-produced goods of other employers.

Answer 12

Hot-Cargo Agreement

Question 13

A card signed by an employee that gives a union permission to act on his or her behalf in negotiations with management.

Answer 13

Authorization Card

Question 14

The process by which labor and management negotiate the terms and conditions of employment, including working hours and workplace conditions.

Answer 14

Collective Bargaining

Question 15

An action undertaken by unionized workers when collective bargaining fails. The workers leave their jobs, refuse to work, and (typically) picket the employer’s workplace.

Answer 15

Strike

Question 16

An action in which an employer shuts down to prevent employees from working, typically because it cannot reach a collective bargaining agreement with the employee’s union.

Answer 16

Lockout