Deck 12: The Role of Governments and Unions in Compensation

Question 1

Which laws are being violated when employment applications and interviews ask for any information regarding the applicant's colour or religion?

A)labour union laws
B)overtime legislation
C)employment standards acts
D)human rights laws
E)minimum wage laws

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The differences in the pay between men and women are legal if the differences are based on:

A)marital status
B)sexual orientation
C)religion
D)colour
E)work quality detailed in formal performance ratings

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Which of the following is used for wage adjustments and is negotiated at the time of initial contract negotiations, with the timing and amount specified in the contract?

A)minimum wage
B)opportunity wage
C)living wage
D)deferred wage
E)subsistence wage

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Employers seek to avoid unionization by offering workers the wages, benefits, and working conditions won in rival unionized firms in what is termed as the:

A)differential wages
B)tertiary effect
C)pay equity legislation
D)primary effect
E)spillover effect

Question 5

Which of the following is a common type of gender discrimination?

A)comparable pay for female and male dominated jobs
B)comparable responsibility for both sexes
C)unbiased job evaluation methods
D)different job titles for the same work
E)gender sensitive local planning

Question 6

The gender wage gap:

A)refers to the difference in the wage that one expects from a company and the actual wage that one receives
B)leads to the spillover effect
C)issue is addressed by the pay equity legislation which is a complaint-based legislation
D)refers to the amount by which the average pay for female workers is less than the average pay for male workers
E)is not related to differences in the number of hours worked

Question 7

Wage adjustment provisions include:

A)wage floor clauses
B)fringe benefits clauses
C)severance pay plans
D)minimum wage clauses
E)reopener clauses

Question 8

Which of the following agreements do NOT differentiate wages on the basis of either seniority or merit?

A)single-rate agreements
B)multiple-rate agreements
C)non-negotiated rate agreements
D)maximum-rate agreements
E)minimum-rate agreements

Question 9

Which of the following is intended to proactively address the effects of occupational segregation?

A)minimum wage laws
B)differential wage legislation
C)overtime pay legislation
D)pay equity legislation
E)child labour laws

Question 10

The amount by which the average pay for female workers is less than the average pay for male workers is known as the:

A)gender wage gap
B)gender pay
C)relational return
D)sex ratio
E)benchmark wage

Question 11

The laws that are intended to provide an income floor for workers in society's least productive jobs are known as:

A)standard hours of work laws
B)minimum wage laws
C)overtime wage laws
D)human rights laws
E)disability laws

Question 12

Which of the following statements about overtime pay legislation is true?

A)It specifies the number of mandatory paid holidays.
B)It limits the size of wage increases.
C)It limits the number of hours per week for certain age groups.
D)It specifies the wages paid for time worked in excess of the standard hours.
E)It forces pay rates at the lowest end of the scale to move up.

Question 13

A compensation plan where the experienced employees are paid more than the new employees is known as a:

A)occupation differential plan
B)merit differential plan
C)two-tier pay plan
D)deferred wage plan
E)wage gap plan

Question 14

When employers face extreme competitive pressures, unions are receptive to gain sharing and profit sharing which are:

A)alternative reward systems
B)cost-of-living adjustments
C)spillover mechanisms
D)collective bargaining agreements
E)equity pay mechanisms

Question 15

Which of the following is true about unions and alternative reward systems?

A)Gain sharing and profit sharing are types of alternative reward systems.
B)The drawback of alternative rewards is that they tend to be subjective in unionized companies.
C)Unions are becoming less receptive to alternative reward systems.
D)Willingness to try alternative rewards is lesser when the firm faces extreme competitive pressure.
E)International competition is very beneficial for unions.

Question 16

Which of the following statements about two-tier plans is true?

A)This plan is in accordance with the most basic precept of unionization.
B)In a two-tier plan, newer employees receive higher wages than their higher seniority peers working on the same or similar jobs.
C)Two-tiered wage system increases solidarity in the union.
D)This wage structure leads to employee satisfaction in the workplace.
E)Two-tiered wage systems can lead to hostility within the organization.

Question 17

Alternative reward systems include:

A)relational return
B)wage differential
C)spillover system
D)gain sharing
E)merit pay system

Question 18

Which of the following is an employer required to provide under the Canadian employment standards acts?

A)market policy
B)paid vacation
C)maximum age of employment
D)voting rights
E)pricing controls

Question 19

Which of the following is true about single-rate agreements?

A)They differentiate only on the basis of merit.
B)They differentiate only on the basis of seniority.
C)They are usually specified for workers across all job classifications.
D)They may specify wage ranges.
E)They are a phenomenon of the union sector in which a contract is negotiated which specifies that all employees hired after a given target date will receive one single lower wage than their higher seniority peers working on the same or similar jobs.

Question 20

Which of the following statements about the role of the government in compensation is true?

A)Lowering interest rates by the government generally lowers manufacturing and this decreased business activity translates into decreased demand for labour.
B)Legislation ensures that the employees are protected from exploitation and given a fair pay.
C)Legislation says that overtime is paid on time compensated, not on time worked.
D)Legislation excludes administrative rules regarding record keeping and statement of wages.
E)Legislation aims at protecting specific groups and also tends to expand that group's participation in the labour market.

Question 21

Government is a key stakeholder in compensation decision making.

Question 22

Occupational segregation is the historical segregation of women into a small number of roles such as clerical, sales, nursing, and teaching.

Question 23

Which of the following statements best describes the role of unions in wage determination?

A)When labour is scarce, the balance of power tilts toward the employers.
B)It is the supply and demand for labour that determines wages and not the union.
C)The union insists on individual merit-based performance measures when the organization faces external competition pressure.
D)During periods of higher unemployment, the impact of unions is lesser.
E)The role of unions in administering compensation is outlined primarily in the contract.

Question 24

A gender wage gap is the amount by which the average pay for senior workers is less than the average pay for newer workers.

Question 25

The size of a firm is related systematically to differences in wages.

Question 26

Meal breaks and rest periods are required during working hours, and have to be paid.

Question 27

Single-rate agreements differentiate wages on the basis of either seniority or merit.

Question 28

Lump sum awards are one-time cash payments to employees that are added to an employee's base wages.

Question 29

Belonging to a union does not necessarily increase wages.

Question 30

Unions make a positive difference in wage levels, and this difference is greatest during recessionary periods and least during inflationary periods.

Question 31

Unions have become much more receptive in recent years to alternative reward systems that link pay to performance.

Question 32

A COLA clause involves periodic adjustments based typically on changes in the consumer price index.

Question 33

Each female job class is compared to each male job class of equal or comparable value in the:

A)wage line method
B)compensation adjustment method
C)proportional value method
D)job-to-job method
E)proxy comparison method

Question 34

Which of the following has been found to be the best predictor of wages across North America, Europe, and Australia?

A)education
B)unionization
C)religion
D)gender
E)experience

Question 35

Which of the following statements about wage gap is true?

A)Wage gap is found primarily among those with higher levels of education.
B)Women's employment is equally distributed across diverse occupations.
C)Wage gap can be accounted for by the firm's compensation policies to some extent.
D)Wage gap and pay equity are interchangeable terms.
E)Wages of men in small firms are 54 percent higher than wages of men in large firms.

Question 36

A government indirectly affects labour demand through its purchases, such as military aircraft, as well as its public policy decisions.

Question 37

Employers must ensure that their compensation systems treat all groups neutrally, compensating for membership in a particular group rather than for merit.

Question 38

If the difference between the work of a male orderly assistant and a female nursing assistant is that the orderly occasionally does heavy lifting, then the work is considered to be substantially different.

Question 39

Which of the following is to be paid at the rate of one and one-half times the basic hourly straight-time rate?

A)allowance
B)overtime pay
C)merit-based pay
D)commission
E)seniority-based pay

Question 40

Enforcement of human rights legislation is complaint-based.

Question 41

What are the provisions for paid holidays under the Canadian employee standards acts?

Question 42

What are the different ways in which male and female job classes are compared in the pay equity process?

Question 43

Why have union attitudes regarding pay-for-performance gradually become more favourable in recent years?

Question 44

Give one reason why overtime pay is often the least costly option for contemporary employers.

Question 45

What is a COLA clause?

Question 46

Why do pay equity laws need special attention?

Question 47

How does the presence of a union affect the wage structure?

Question 48

Identify the historically disadvantaged groups whose situation is being relieved by the development of programs under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Question 49

What is the role of the government in compensation?

Question 50

How do differences in occupations contribute to the gender wage gap? What do pay equity laws intend to accomplish?