Key Legislation

Question 1

ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA)

Answer 1

2008-
Amendments to Americans with Disabilities Act covering the definition of individuals regarded as having a disability, mitigating measures, and other rules of construction to guide the analysis of what constitutes a disability.

Question 2

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

Answer 2

1967-

Prohibits discrimination in employment for persons age 40 and over.

Question 3

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Answer 3

Prohibits discrimination against a qualified individual with a disability because of his/her disability

Question 4

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Answer 4

First comprehensive US law making it unlawful to discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

Question 5

Civil Rights Act of 1991

Answer 5

Expands the possible damage awards available to victims of intentional discrimination to include compensatory and punitive damages; gives plaintiffs in cases of alleged discrimination the right to a jury trial.

Question 6

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)

Answer 6

1985-

Provides individuals and dependents who may lose medical coverage with opportunity to pay to continue coverage.

Question 7

Drug-Free Workplace Act

Answer 7

Requires federal contractors with contracts of $100,000 or more as well as recipients of grants from federal government to certify they are maintaining a drug-free workplace.

Question 8

Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)

Answer 8

1988 -
Generally prevents employers engaged in or affecting interstate commerce from using polygraph tests either for preemployment screening or during the course of employment, with certain exemptions.

Question 9

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

Answer 9

1947-

Established uniform minimum standards for employer-sponsored retirement and health and welfare benefit programs.

Question 10

Equal Employment Opportunity Act

Answer 10

1972-
Amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and gave the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission authority to “back up” its administrative findings and conduct its own enforcement litigation.

Question 11

Equal Pay Act

Answer 11

1963 -

Prohibits unequal pay for equal or “substantially equal” work.

Question 12

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act)

Answer 12

2003 -

Provides some relief to employers using third parties to conduct workplace investigations.

Question 13

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

Answer 13

1970-

Protects privacy of background information and ensures that information supplied is accurate.

Question 14

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Answer 14

1938-

Regulates employee status, overtime pay, child labor, minimum wage, record keeping, and other administrative concerns.

Question 15

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Answer 15

1993-
Provides employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for family members or because of a serious health condition of the employee.

Question 16

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)

Answer 16

2008-
Prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of their genetic information in both employment and health insurance.

Question 17

Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)

Answer 17

1986-
Prohibits discrimination against job applicants on the basis of national origin or citizenship; establishes penalties for hiring illegal aliens and requires employers to establish each employee’s identity and eligibility to work.

Question 18

Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA; Taft-Hartley Act)

Answer 18

1947-
Provides balance of power between union and management by designating certain union activities as unfair labor practices.

Question 19

Labor-Management Reporting Disclosure Act (LMRDA)

Answer 19

1959-

Protects the rights of union members from corrupt or discriminatory labor unions; also known as Landrum-Griffin Act.

Question 20

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Answer 20

2009-
Creates a rolling time frame for filing wage discrimination claims and expands plaintiff field beyond employee who was discriminated against.

Question 21

National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA)

Answer 21

2008 & 2010-
Expanded leave under Family and Medical Leave Act for employees with family members who are covered members of the military.

Question 22

National Labor Relations Act (NLRA; Wagner Act)

Answer 22

1935-

Protects the rights of employees to organize unhampered by management.

Question 23

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act

Answer 23

1970-
Established the first national policy for safety and health and continues to deliver standards that employers must meet to guarantee the health and safety of their employees.

Question 24

Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)

Answer 24

1990-
Amended Age Discrimination in Employment Act to include all employee benefits; also provided terminated employees with time to consider group termination or retirement programs and consult an attorney.

Question 25

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)

Answer 25

2010-
Requires virtually all citizens and legal residents of the U.S. to have minimum health coverage and requires employers with more than 50 full-time employees to provide health coverage that meets minimum benefit specifications or pay a penalty.

Question 26

Portal-to-Portal Act

Answer 26

1947-

Defines what is included as hours worked and is therefore compensable and a factor in calculating overtime.

Question 27

Pregnancy Discrimination Act

Answer 27

1978-

Prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

Question 28

Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)

Answer 28

2002-
Requires publicly held companies to establish internal controls and procedures for financial reporting to reduce possibility of corporate fraud.

Question 29

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)

Answer 29

1994-
Protects the employment, reemployment, and retention rights of persons who serve or have served in the uniformed services.

Question 30

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act

Answer 30

1988-

Requires some employers to give a minimum of 60 days’ notice if a plant is to close or if mass layoffs will occur.