U.S. Emp. Law & Reg. Flashcards
ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA)
Amendments to U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act covering the definition of individuals regarded as having a disability, mitigating measures, and other rules to guide the analysis of what constitutes a disability.
Adverse impact
Type of discrimination that results when a policy that appears to be neutral has a discriminatory effect; also known as disparate impact.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
U.S. act that prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of age.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
U.S. act that prohibits discrimination against a qualified individual with a disability because of his/her disability
Bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)
Factor (such as religion, gender, national origin, etc.) that is reasonably necessary, in the normal operations of an organization, to carry out a particular job function.
Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth
U.S. court ruling that distinguished between supervisor harassment that results in tangible employment action and supervisor harassment that does not.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
First comprehensive U.S. law making it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Civil Rights Act of 1991
U.S. act that 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.
Comparable worth
Concept that jobs filled primarily by women that require skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions comparable to similar jobs filled primarily by men should have the same classifications and salaries.
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
U.S. act that provides individuals and dependents who may lose health-care coverage with opportunity to pay to continue coverage.
Davis-Bacon Act
U.S. act that requires certain contractors and subcontractors to pay laborers and mechanics no less than the locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits for corresponding work on federal contracts.
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
U.S. act that defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman and permitted states to not recognize same-sex marriages recognized by other states; ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court.
Disability
Physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one’s major life activities.
Disparate impact
Type of discrimination that results when a policy that appears to be neutral has a discriminatory effect; also known as adverse impact.
Disparate treatment
Type of discrimination that occurs when an applicant or employee is treated differently because of his or her membership in a protected class.
Drug-Free Workplace Act
U.S. law that requires federal contractors with contracts of $100,000 or more as well as recipients of grants from federal government to certify that they are maintaining a drug-free workplace.
Electronic Communications Privacy Act
U.S. act that made it unlawful to intercept messages in transmission, access stored information on electronic communication services, or disclose any of this information.
Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)
U.S. act that prevents private employers from requiring applicants or employees to take a polygraph test for preemployment screening or during the course of employment, with certain exceptions
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
U.S. act that established uniform minimum standards to ensure that employee benefit and pension plans are set up and maintained in a fair and financially sound manner.
Employees
Individuals who exchange work for wages or salary; in the U.S., workers who are covered by Fair Labor Standards Act regulations as determined by the IRS.
Employment at-will
Principle of employment in the U.S. that employers have the right to hire, fire, demote, and promote whomever they choose for any reason unless there is a law or contract to the contrary and that employees have the right to quit a job at any time.
Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI)
Type of liability insurance covering an organization against claims by employees, former employees, and employment candidates alleging that their legal rights in the employment relationship have been violated.
Equal Employment Opportunity Act
U.S act that amended Title VII and gave the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission authority to “back up” its administrative findings and conduct its own enforcement litigation.
Equal Pay Act (EPA)
U.S. act that prohibits wage discrimination by requiring equal pay for equal or “substantially equal” work performed by men and women.
Essential functions
Primary job duties that a qualified individual must be able to perform, either with or without accommodation.
Executive Order 13672
Amends Executive Orders 11478 and 11246 to include gender identity and sexual orientation.
Exempt employees
Employees who are excluded from U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act minimum wage and overtime pay requirements.
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act)
U.S act that frees employers who use third parties to conduct workplace investigations from the consent and disclosure requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act in certain cases.
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
U.S act that protects privacy of background information and ensures that information supplied is accurate.
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
U.S act that establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, youth employment, and record-keeping standards affecting full- and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments.