Deck 12: Employment-At-Will, Employee Discipline, and Negligent Hiring Issues

Question 1

Effective investigations are exercises in fact finding.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

An employee breaches an explicit contract if she serves the employment relationship before the contract expires because of the employee's poor performance.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

In the event that there are contradictions in an employee handbook, courts are more likely to rule in favor of the employee.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Even if an employer's handbook explicitly stipulates employment only for cause, an employee can still be fired under employment-at-will, as long as no formal contract was signed.

Question 5

As a practical matter, there are no jurisdictions in which employment-at-will is absolute.

Question 6

Because of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, private sector employees are afforded more due process protection than their public sector counterparts.

Question 7

It is not necessary for a contract to be legally consistent with existing law and sound public policy.

Question 8

No organization should take an adverse employment action against any employee before it has gathered sufficient information to substantiate that such action is necessary.

Question 9

HR Professionals should always assume that a complaint is truthful and factual and begin disciplinary action accordingly.

Question 10

To ensure substantive due process, whoever is assigned the task of investigating an allegation should approach the task in an impartial manner.

Question 11

An employer should keep a complaint and the subsequent proceedings as confidential as possible.

Question 12

Procedural due process answers the question, "Does the punishment fit the crime?"

Question 13

Negligent hiring is an insignificant source of employment litigation.

Question 14

Negligent retention means the same thing as negligent supervision.

Question 15

There is no law that requires an employer to provide a recommendation, good or bad, for a former employee.

Question 16

Properly constructed employee handbooks provide more benefits than costs to an employer.

Question 17

Any written personnel policy or guideline that stipulates guarantees of continued employment may constitute an implied contract.

Question 18

To achieve the highest legal protection, it is best to write an employee handbook in legal terms, even if it is above the reading comprehension levels of the employees for whom the handbooks are intended.

Question 19

Employment-at-will permits an employer to fire an employee if he believes that he has too many male employees.

Question 20

One of the ways in which employers can ensure that they are providing for adequate due process is through proper in-house investigations.

Question 21

__________ guarantee due process and protect citizens from arbitrary actions by their government.

A)The Fourth and Fifteenth Amendments
B)The Sixth and Thirteenth Amendments
C)The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments
D)The Third and Sixteenth Amendments

Question 22

Which of the following situations would preclude an employer from exercising her employment-at-will rights when terminating an employee?

A)explicit contract exists
B)contrary to good faith and fair dealing
C)contrary to public policy
D)all of these situations

Question 23

__________ assures the employee that no disciplinary action is taken against him or her unless there is clear and convincing evidence that the employee committed a disciplinary offense.

A)Procedural due process
B)Substantive due process
C)Public policy
D)Employment-at-will

Question 24

__________ refers to an employee's right to fair and consistent treatment in regard to terms and conditions of employment.

A)Due process
B)Public policy
C)Strict scrutiny
D)Undue hardship

Question 25

A primary assumption of Douglas McGregor's Hot Stove Principle is that:

A)disciplinary actions are deliberately confusing
B)disciplinary actions are succinctly written
C)disciplinary actions are imposed equally on all offenders
D)none of the above

Question 26

Which can be used by an employer as a breach-of-contract defense for terminating a contractual employee?

A)mental impairment
B)intoxication
C)person offered contract is a minor
D)all of the above

Question 27

Under implied contract doctrine, if an employer explicitly stipulates employment for a definite time period, the employee can only be terminated:

A)under employment-at-will
B)for just cause
C)before due process
D)through the whistleblower clause

Question 28

Why are employers so concerned with protecting their employment-at-will rights?

A)employee satisfaction would decrease otherwise
B)employee retention would suffer otherwise
C)additional documentation would be required otherwise
D)additional office space is required otherwise

Question 29

__________ is provided when any accused party is permitted to respond to charges before an impartial forum.

A)Procedural due process
B)Substantive due process
C)Public policy
D)Employment-at-will

Question 30

A contract consists of two important parts:

A)mutual assent and consideration
B)due process and consideration
C)mutual assent and due process
D)none of the above

Question 31

__________ protect employees from being retaliated against for reporting violations of a specific law in question.

A)Negligent retentions
B)Just cause statutes
C)Whistleblower clauses
D)Due processes

Question 32

What is the second step in McGregor's Hot Stove Principle?

A)disciplinary actions should be administered quickly.
B)discipline should be applied to all employees who violate the rule.
C)discipline must be impartially imposed
D)disciplinary procedures should include warnings.

Question 33

The only state that has passed a just cause discharge statute is _______________.

A)Texas
B)Montana
C)Florida
D)South Dakota

Question 34

Which is not a legitimate business reason that could be used to substantiate a just cause termination?

A)poor job performance
B)low quality of work
C)tardiness caused by a work-related injury
D)increased absenteeism

Question 35

__________ means that if an employee has the freedom to quit at his or her own volition, then the employer has an equal right to fire the employee at his or her own volition.

A)Procedural due process
B)Employment-at-will
C)Explicit contract
D)Implied contract

Question 36

From a state court standpoint, the most widely accepted means of establishing implied employment contracts are:

A)employee handbooks
B)written statements implying continued employment
C)oral statements implying continued employment
D)none of the above, as they generally do not support the concept of implied contracts.

Question 37

Private sector employers may find themselves legally obligated to provide for due process through:

A)collective bargaining agreements
B)implied contracts
C)explicit contracts
D)all of the above

Question 38

Which is an example of documentation that substantiates an employer's legitimate business reason for terminating an employee?

A)having good disciplinary policies in effect
B)managers are trained in the proper procedure for disciplinary actions
C)good record keeping
D)all of the above

Question 39

A termination violates __________ when an employee is discharged for refusing to violate a law or ordinance, fired for refusing to avoid a civic duty or obligation, or terminated for engaging in a legal right.

A)due process
B)public policy
C)strict scrutiny
D)undue hardship

Question 40

Under a/an __________, employers are limited to discharging employees only for broadly and statutorily defined reasons.

A)just cause statute
B)due process
C)substantive due process
D)implied contract

Question 41

Provide the four (4) exceptions to employment-at-will (EAW) doctrine.Provide three (3) reasons or rationale that would constitute a "just cause" termination.

Question 42

In the text, which is not a suggested question to ask during an investigation into a work-related incident?

A)What documentation or physical evidence is present?
B)Who is to blame for this incident?
C)Who else witnessed the incident?
D)What happened?

Question 43

Elaborate on the procedural process and concerns of an investigator who is conducting an in-house investigation related to unlawful discrimination.

Question 44

What is Douglas McGregor's Hot Stove Principle?

Question 45

Negligent misrepresentation is sometimes called:

A)negligent referral
B)negligent retention
C)negligent supervision
D)none of the above

Question 46

When an organization takes any corrective action including disciplinary action, the punishment should:

A)be based on what has been done in similar situations in the past
B)be harsher than what has been done in similar situations in the past
C)be more lenient than what has been done in similar situations in the past
D)not be related in any way to similar situations in the past

Question 47

The first thing HR professionals must remember about any complaint or reported violation is that:

A)they should assume that it is true.
B)it may not be truthful or factual.
C)they should immediately reprimand the violator.
D)they should assure the complainant of the confidentiality of the investigation.

Question 48

Giving one employee a verbal warning for a first offense being 10 minutes late for a shift and terminating another for a first offense assaulting a supervisor is an example of _________.

A)public policy
B)equivalent justice
C)procedural justice
D)distributive justice

Question 49

In-house investigations will provide __________ if they are pursued from a fact-finding standpoint.

A)cyclical due process
B)substantive due process
C)equivalent due process
D)procedural due process

Question 50

To prevent negligent hiring:

A)never conduct background investigations
B)always provide positive recommendations
C)screen applicants with potential liability problems
D)all of the above

Question 51

What are the two types of employment contracts? How is each one established? Explain the terms of employment if there is no contract.

Question 52

Negligent retention is sometimes called:

A)negligent misrepresentation
B)negligent referral
C)negligent supervision
D)none of the above

Question 53

Requiring an employee accused of pilfering to present his defense within 1 hour is an example of a procedure which ______________.

A)lacks procedural due process
B)lacks substantive due process
C)ensures procedural due process
D)ensures substantive due process

Question 54

Which is not something HR professionals should ensure happens during investigations?

A)investigation appears fair
B)only assemble corroborating evidence
C)investigation appears systematic
D)gather the facts