Vocab3 Flashcards
Ricci v. DeStefano
Supreme Court ruling that employers may violate Title VII when they engage in race-conscious decision making to address adverse impact unless they can demonstrate a “strong basis in evidence†that, had they not taken the action, they would have been liable under a disparate impact theory.
Right to work
Refers to statutes that prohibit unions from making union membership a condition of employment.
Risk management
Identification, evaluation, and control of risk that may affect an organization, typically incorporating the use of insurance and other strategies.
Risk management scorecard
Tool used to make calculated judgments based on the probability that a circumstance will occur and the potential consequences.
Roth 401(k)/403(b) plans
Plans that allow after-tax contributions to existing 401(k) or 403(b) plans.
Roth IRA
Account providing tax-free income growth; contributions are made with after-tax dollars.
S-shaped curve
Type of learning curve in which learning occurs in a series of increasing and decreasing returns; usually seen when an employee is attempting to learn a difficult task that also requires specific insight.
Safe harbor
Provision in a law or regulation that provides some measure of protection from liability if certain conditions are met.
Safety
Freedom from hazard, risk, or injury.
Safety committees
Composed of workers from different levels and departments who are involved in safety planning and programs.
Salary
Uniform amount of money paid to a worker regardless of how many hours are worked.
Salary compression
Occurs when there is only a small difference in pay between employees regardless of their skills, experience, or seniority; also known as pay compression.
Sales
Business function responsible for selling an organization’s product to the marketplace.
Salting
Process of using paid union organizers to infiltrate an organization and organize its workers.
Sample
Portion of a population used to draw conclusions regarding an entire population.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)
Act that changed corporate governance and reporting standards and underscored board of director’s responsibility to help ensure financial accountability, accuracy, and compliance.
Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE)
Retirement plan by which employees can contribute each year to a 401(k) plan or IRA.
Scatter diagram
Illustration that depicts possible relationships between two variables.
Scheduling
To an operations department, the act of detailed planning; based upon incoming orders, order history, and forecasts of future demand.
School Board of Nassau v. Arline
Supreme Court ruling that persons with contagious diseases could be covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
School-to-work programs
Allow organizations to partner with communities and schools to help develop the skilled workforce they will need for the future.
Secondary boycotts
When a union attempts to influence an employer by exerting pressure on another employer.
Secondary research
Uses data already gathered by others and reported in various sources.
Section 125 benefit plans
Written benefit plans maintained by the employer that allow employees to use pretax dollars to pay for certain qualified benefits.
Section 7 rights
Rights under NLRA that allow employees to engage or not engage in union activity.
Securities and Exchange Act
Act that regulated “insider trading.â€
Security
Physical/procedural measures used to protect people, property, and information in the workplace.
Segmented bargaining
When employer and union decide to assign specific bargaining issues to committees; proposals are then returned to entire group for decision.
Selection
Process of hiring the most suitable candidate for a vacant position.
Selection interview
Interview designed to probe areas of interest to interviewer in order to determine how well a job candidate meets the needs of the organization.
Self-directed team
Group of people that works in a self-managing way; typically assume complete autonomy.
Self-funded health-care plan
Health-care plan in which the employer takes on the role of the insurance company and assumes some or all of the risk.
Seniority
System that shows preference to employees with the longest service.
Serious health condition
As defined in DOL regulations, a condition that involves employee incapacity for more than three calendar days plus “two visits to a health-care provider.â€
Serious violation
Violation of an OSHA standard that is likely to cause death or serious injury on the job.
Service Contract Act
Act that extended prevailing wage rate and benefit requirements to employers providing services under federal government contracts.
Severance package
Set of benefits provided to employees who are terminated for some reason other than cause.
Sexual harassment
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Act that curbed concentrations of power that interfered with trade and reduced economic competition; directed at large monopolistic employers but applied by courts to labor unions.
Shift pay
Supplemental pay paid to employees who work less-desirable hours, such as second or third shifts.
Short-term disability (STD) coverage
Replaces a portion of lost income for a specified period of time for employees who are ill or have nonwork-related injuries.
Short-term objectives
Milestones that must be achieved, usually within six months to one year, in order to reach long-term objectives.
Sick building syndrome (SBS)
Situation in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building but no specific illness or cause can be identified.
Sick leave
Specified period of time during which employees who are ill or have nonwork-related injuries receive their full salary.
Simple linear regression
Projection of future demand based on a past relationship; involves a single variable.
Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)
Tax-deferred account to which the self-employed and employees of very small businesses can contribute.
Simulations
Representations of real situations; give organizations the opportunity to speculate as to what would happen if certain courses of action were pursued.
Single-rate pay
Provides each incumbent of a job with the same rate of pay, regardless of performance or seniority; also known as flat-rate pay.
Situational interview
Type of interview in which interviewer asks questions designed to elicit stories and examples that demonstrate the applicant’s skills and qualifications.
Six Sigma
Disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects.
Skill banks
Computerized talent or skill inventories that can furnish a list of qualified people.
Skill tracking systems
Computerized talent or skill inventories that can furnish a list of qualified people.
Skill variety
Extent to which a job requires a variety of different activities for successful completion.
Skip-level interviews
Practice in union-free organizations of encouraging managers to spend time with each employee two levels below them on an annual basis.
Small Business Job Protection Act (SBJPA)
Act that made changes to rules regarding the ability of tax-exempt organizations to institute retirement plans modeled after 401(k) and IRA accounts and to the definition of highly compensated employees.
Smith v. Jackson, Mississippi
Case in which Supreme Court held that Age Discrimination in Employment Act authorizes recovery on a disparate impact theory but with narrower scope than that provided under Title VII.
Social engineering
Collection of manipulative techniques used to gain access to private or confidential information, often without face-to-face interaction.
Social media
Collectively describes a variety of online Internet technology platforms and communities that people use to communicate and share information and resources.
Social Security
Social Security Administration program that provides retirement, disability, death, and survivor’s benefits.
Span of control
Refers to the number of individuals who report to a supervisor.
St. Mary’s Honor Center v. Hicks
Court ruling that Title VII plaintiff must show that discrimination was the real reason for an employer’s actions.
Staff units
Work groups that assist line units by providing specialized services, such as HR.
Staffing
HR function that identifies organizational human capital needs and attempts to provide an adequate supply of qualified individuals for jobs in an organization.
Standard deviation
Measure that indicates how much scores in a set of data are spread out around a mean or average.
Standards
For an operations department, provide the yardstick by which the amount and quality of output are measured.
State (public) employment agencies
Agencies that provide employee screening, testing, and referral at no cost to the employer.
State plans
Safety and health policies and procedures that states have adopted and that have been approved by OSHA.
Stereotyping
Type of interviewer bias that involves forming generalized opinions about how people of a given gender, religion, or race appear, think, act, feel, or respond.
