Workplace Three Flashcards
What must HR remember about compliance checklists and HR audits?
- Compliance checks are guidelines only
* Audits are discoverable
Why should you NOT tell your employees not to discuss an internal investigation?
It could violate their Section 7 rights according to the NLRB
All questions and decisions about the terms and conditions of employment should concern what?
- Essential job functions
(job-related factors)
What is disparate impact and what US Supreme Court case established it?
- When a facially neutral factor has a disproportional impact on a protected class
(presumption of discrimination if less than 80% of the selection rate of the highest group, presumption can be rebutted by showing validity, proved either predictively or concurrently) - GRIGGS v. DUKE POWER
What are the protected classes under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
- Race
- Color
- National origin
- Sex
- Religion
- Pregnancy
What is the difference between sex, gender, gender identity, and transgender?
- Biological; societal-assigned appropriate behavior, internal sense, where internal sense does not match
What are the four exceptions of Title VII?
- Work-related requirements (example: few women can comply with job-related strength specifications)
- Bona-fide occupational qualifications BFOQ(required to perform the essential job functions hopefully listed on the job descriptions)
- Genuine seniority system
- Affirmative action
What is the statute of limitations on discrimination lawsuits?
- 180 or 300 days to file a complaint and then 90 days from the date you receive your right to sue letter to file in court
(Exception: Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, for compensation discrimination, the statute of limitations renews with every paycheck based on the alleged discrimination action.)
Under the Pregnancy Act, how must pregnancy be treated?
- As a temporary disability
Who does the ADEA protect?
- Employees 40 and over
What must be done to get an employee to waive their ADEA rights?
- The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) requires that the employee be given 21 days to think about it and 7 days to revoke, must be told they should see an attorney, must be given a severance (something not earned already), and the release must specifically address the ADEA
Whom does the ADA protect?
- Qualified people with disabilities
Because of ADAAA and recent court rulings, SHRM suggests that the employer’s focus regarding an employee’s request for accommodation should be on what?
ADAAA (Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act 2008)
- How an employee should be treated rather than what the employer believes about the impairment (a two way discussion which involves input from the treating physician)
When considering whether an employer can make a reasonable accommodation, how should an employee consider a safety threat?
- It cannot be an assumption it must be objective, with medical evidence
What is workplace harassment?
- Conduct that a reasonable person would think placed them in an ongoing offensive, threatening environment
What is quid pro quo?
- Express or implied promise or threat in return for sexual favors
(Automatic liability of employer of threat is followed out)
What is the effect of an employee’s failure to alert management to potential harassment?
- Case will not be dismissed but employee will be asked to give specific reasons for not reporting
How do you avoid harassment claims?
- Have a strong policy with examples on-work time and off-work time behavior, train, and discipline