Employment Law

Question 1

Who was among the first to create worker’s compensation programs and other programs?

Answer 1

Wisconsin

Question 2

What did the Railway Labor Act?

Answer 2

Permits employees to form labor unions without employer interference for railroads and airlines (First area to permit it)

Question 3

What is the Norris-LaGuardia Act?

Answer 3

Permits employees to form labor unions without employer interference? Ruled unconstitutional

Question 4

What is the National Labor Relations Act?

Answer 4

Congress passed the “Wagner Act” which provides the right to unionize (a federally protected right of employees to unionize and to bargain collectively)
- Prohibits Unfair Employer Practices - the act identifies five unfair labor practices by an employer. (union domination, interfering with rights to organize, discriminating against union members or employees, refusal to bargain in good faith)

Question 5

What is the Labor-Management Relations Act?

Answer 5

• Prohibits Unfair Union Practices (7) including:
• coercing employee to join a union
• refusing to bargain in good faith
• levying excessive fines
• causing employer to discriminate against a non-union employee
• featherbedding
• engaging in secondary activities
• picketing an employer to require recognition of an uncertified union
• Prohibits Closed Shops (mandate employers hire only union members)
• Allows Union Shops which are contracts that permit an employer can hire nonunion members, but the employee must join the union after hired
• Right to Work prohibits union shop laws

Question 6

What does the Labor Management Reporting Act do?

Answer 6

• attempts to eliminate corruption in unions by requiring more union disclosures and making unions more democratic

Question 7

What is the Employment Discrimination Equal Pay Act?

Answer 7

• prohibits an employer from discriminating between employees on the basis of gender by paying unequal wages for equal work
• 4 Reasons for Unequal pay

Question 8

What are the 4 Reasons for Unequal Pay?

Answer 8

• seniority
• merit
• quality or quantity of production
• any other factor not related to gender

Question 9

What are the 2 reasons that Labor Unions are declining?

Answer 9

1) Most workers for these jobs now overseas

2) Today, you go straight to government with problems, not unions

Question 10

So, what are labor unions doing?

Answer 10

• They must provide high quality employees or they’ll be out of business
• Keeping bad people in their jobs is the wrong approach

Question 11

What is the Civil Rights Act?

Answer 11

• Created Affirmative Action the active recruitment of a designated group of applicants
• racial equality
• employment
• Established Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforcement agency for the act

Question 12

What is the per se case relating to discrimination?

Answer 12

Person:

• is in the protected class
• applied for the open position
• qualified for the position
• denied the position

Question 13

In a smaller group, is it harder to prove discrimination?

Answer 13

YES!

Question 14

What is comparable worth?

Answer 14

equal pay for jobs that are of equal value to an employer

Question 15

What is the Age Discrimination Act?

Answer 15

• Prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in hiring, firing or compensating
• Applies to private employers having 20+ employees, and to all governmental units regardless of size
• Defenses 1) BFOQ 2) Bona fide seniority system 3) any other reasonable action (i.e. voluntary retirement)

Question 16

What is the Rehabilitation Act?

Answer 16

• Assists handicapped person in obtaining rehabilitation training, access to public facilities and employment

Question 17

What is the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Answer 17

• Forbids an employer from discriminating against any individuals with a disability regarding hiring, discharing, compensating, advancing, job training, and other terms and conditions of employment
• Applies to employers with 15 or more employees
• Employers must use qualification tests and related means to assure compliance with the law

Question 18

Protection - Drug Testing

Answer 18

• Goal is to protect public safety
• State by state laws differ
• Federal laws permit testing to protect public safety and health

Question 19

Protections - Lie Detector Test

Answer 19

• You can’t be required to take one

Question 20

What is the Occupations Safety and Health Act (OSHA)?

Answer 20

• enacted to ensure workers of a safe and healthful work environment

Question 21

What is workers compensation?

Answer 21

• Wisconsin became the first state to pass this law
• Compensation awarded to an employee who is injured in the course of his or her employment
• If you get hurt at work, you get an automatic settlement
• Today, this includes occupational diseases

Question 22

Social Security….

Answer 22

The math doesn’t work. You can’t work for 20 years and collect the same $$ for the rest of your life

Question 23

What are defenses to a TItle VII Action?

Answer 23

• Bona Fide Merit or Seniority System
• Professionally developed ability test
• Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (accounting degree, CPA)
• Compensation based on Performance Results (toughest one) Performance = Revenue
• *People are afraid to tell people that are doing a bad job
• *You can fire people if you have a merit-based system