Deck 4: Employee Privacy Rights in the 21st Century

Question 1

Malice in the context of defamation and invasion of privacy means :

A)animosity toward somebody .
B)a physical altercation must have taken place.
C)knowledge that a statement is false or a reckless disregard of its truth or falsity.
D)None of these answers.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The knowledge or reckless disregard of the falsity of a communication is known as slander.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

FCRA stands for Financial Credit Reporting Agency.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Genetic testing is not considered a serious intrusion into the privacy of the employees by an employer.

Question 5

Background checks are usually an easy task for most employers and labor unions.

Question 6

What is the unifying element of the four separate privacy torts?

A)The right to be left alone
B)The right to do personal activities while at work
C)The right to talk about co-workers and bosses in a negative manner without repercussion
D)The right to be hired/promoted without regard to gender, race, national origin, or sex

Question 7

Surveillance and eavesdropping are techniques commonly associated with police, spies and military intelligence.

Question 8

Monitoring of behavior from a distance by means of electronic equipment or other means of technology is known as surveillance.

Question 9

Alcohol and drug abuse during working hours are reasons for suspicion of substance abuse.

Question 10

Malice implies animosity towards somebody in the generic sense.

Question 11

The greatest amount of litigation is in drug testing, which has been instigated due to internal investigation.

Question 12

Neither private nor public sector employers have rights to monitor the use of employer-owned computers.

Question 13

Employees who test positive for substance abuse are referred to the Employee Opportunities Corporation.

Question 14

The term "surveillance" is used to describe all of the following except :

A)postal interception.
B)observation with binoculars.
C)eavesdropping.
D)direct observation.

Question 15

The most common way employers invade their employees' privacy is to:

A)intrude on their seclusion, solitude or private affairs.
B)probe into their personal lives and medical history.
C)monitor their relationships with individuals at the workplace.
D)request for irrelevant information and past records.

Question 16

Human Resource Departments do not maintain employee files since these are considered confidential.

Question 17

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides protection to public employees.

Question 18

Privacy rights in the employment area are important Constitutional rights extended to State and municipal employees with the due process clause of the:

A)Fourth Amendment.
B)Eighth Amendment.
C)Fifth Amendment.
D)Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 19

Drug testing does not require a specific reason and can be random.

Question 20

Protected Health Information (PHI)policy aims at preventing the unauthorized use or disclosure of health and medical information.

Question 21

If a former employer withholds relevant information about an employee from his or her new employer, this may actually expose the former employer to:

A)criminal liability.
B)tort liability.
C)civil liability.
D)absolute liability.

Question 22

Employees of private corporations have common law and statutory privacy protections against:

A)surveillance.
B)eavesdropping.
C)requests for medical information.
D)All of these answers.

Question 23

Requests for medical information and conducting internal investigations are examples of:

A)placing the plaintiff in a false light in the public eye.
B)violating the Fifth Amendment.
C)intellectual property theft.
D)intrusion upon employees' privacy.

Question 24

Drug testing is mandatory under the Drug-Free Workplace Act for employers who work in:

A)the legal department of private sectors.
B)chemical factories.
C)educational institutes.
D)public sector organizations.

Question 25

In the Ringelberg v. Vanguard decision , the court cited the United States Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Jones, in which it held that monitoring a person's movements using a GPS tracking device implicates the Fourth Amendment, suggesting that Ringelberg had a ____________ in his daily movements in his car.

A)liability
B)reasonable expectation of privacy
C)no reasonable expectation of privacy
D)None of these answers.

Question 26

George, an employee of a private sector organization, was put through a genetic test in accordance with the company policies. The company:

A)can choose to inform him about the test.
B)has to receive a written consent from George.
C)needs to submit a written copy to the court regarding the test.
D)cannot request for a genetic test under any circumstance.

Question 27

HIPAA stands for:

A)Health Insurance Protection and Accountability Act.
B)Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
C)Health Insurance Prevention and Accountability Act.
D)Health Insurance Provision and Accountability Act.

Question 28

Privacy concerns arise in the context of third-party information requests primarily:

A)after an employee exits a company.
B)at the hiring stage.
C)during collective bargaining.
D)over employees' Internet usage.

Question 29

The Supreme Court for the first time expressly acknowledged a right of privacy implicit in the Constitution in the case of:

A)Quon v. Arch Wireless Operating Co., Inc.
B)Williams v. City of Tulsa.
C)Griswold v. Connecticut.
D)Massey v. Roth.

Question 30

Private employers, and even public employers with an appropriate notice that trumps employees' privacy expectations, are free to monitor and review employee use of:

A)employees' cell phones.
B)employer-owned computers.
C)employee-owned computers.
D)All of these answers.

Question 31

In which famous case did Jurist Oliver Wendell Homes declare Virginia's compulsory-sterilization law constitutional and infamously write, "Three generations of imbeciles are enough"?

A)Buck v. Well
B)Buck v. Dell
C)Buck v. Bell
D)Bach v. Dell

Question 32

Employers who are under the HIPAA umbrella are subject to the regulations of the Act and must certify in writing that they will comply with:

A)selected HIPAA regulations.
B)all HIPAA regulations.
C)amended HIPAA regulations.
D)HIPAA non disclosure policies.

Question 33

Employee privacy rights for unionized employees are covered under:

A)the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution.
B)criminal invasion of privacy.
C)the tort of invasion of privacy.
D)collective bargaining agreement.

Question 34

Reasonable suspicion for substance abuse:

A)has not been linked to decrease in productivity at work.
B)could be a result of racial discrimination.
C)is a violation of HIPAA regulations.
D)is usually linked to apparent physical state of impairment.

Question 35

Privacy is violated under common law by :

A)appropriating the plaintiff's identity for the defendant's benefit.
B)placing the plaintiff in a false light in the public eye.
C)publicly disclosing private facts about the plaintiff.
D)All of these answers.

Question 36

The testing of human blood and/or urine for the presence of controlled/illegal substances is known as:

A)drug testing.
B)genetic testing.
C)reasonable suspicion.
D)mandatory testing.

Question 37

Under what circumstances may private and public sector employers monitor employees' use of employer-owned computers?

A)Only with an appropriate notice.
B)Only through a written warrant.
C)Only with the permission of state authorities.
D)Employers cannot monitor employees' use of computers.

Question 38

One of the express purposes of HIPAA's privacy provisions is to:

A)prevent employers from using PHI for personnel decisions.
B)prevent employers from creating a "firewall" between employees who administer health insurance plans and all other employees.
C)protect employees and applicants who may suffer from physical and mental disabilities.
D)remove many thousands of private employers from HIPAA and its implementing regulations.

Question 39

In which year was the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)enacted?

A)1889
B)1899
C)1998
D)1999

Question 40

Ringelberg v. Vanguard and West v, C.J. Prestman Company are both cases concerning intrusion into the plaintiffs' right of:

A)statutory rule.
B)seclusion.
C)absolute privilege.
D)qualified privilege.

Question 41

What is HIPAA?

Question 42

Pre-employment drug testing is typically considered:

A)contractual.
B)mandatory.
C)illegal.
D)a company policy.

Question 43

In legal parlance, EAP stands for:

A)Employee Assistance Program.
B)Employee Assessment Program.
C)Employee Agreement Program.
D)Employee Arraignment Program.

Question 44

Ruth, an employee of a private sector company, was found violating company policy which strictly prohibited employees from using drugs or alcohol within company premises. Ruth was referred to the Employee Assistance Program, which she deliberately refused. This act most likely resulted in:

A)demotion.
B)termination.
C)litigation.
D)suspension pending drug test results.

Question 45

Identify the entities covered under HIPPA.

Question 46

Health records usually are maintained in separate HR files, as is appropriate under:

A)Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
B)The Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
C)Drug-Free Workplace Act.
D)The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights 2002 Guidelines.

Question 47

In West v. C.J. Prestman Company , the plaintiffs alleged:

A)defamation and false light invasion of privacy.
B)slander.
C)unreasonable suspicion.
D)intrusion upon seclusion.

Question 48

Can employers mandate the policy of genetic testing?

Question 49

The Human Resource (HR)department of a company maintains employee personal files. Bradley, an employee of a leather manufacturing company was terminated by his supervisor on the basis of facts that were found in the file. Considering this scenario, who else, apart from the HR department and supervisors, are allowed access to employee personal files?

A)Private entities
B)Co-workers
C)Legal department
D)General public

Question 50

Why does genetic testing of employees present an ethical dilemma?

Question 51

Describe malice in the context of defamation and invasion of privacy.

Question 52

What does surveillance and eavesdropping mean?

Question 53

What serious intrusion of employees' privacy has severe ethical implications?

Question 54

Which of the following is not part of a typical pre-employment drug testing policy?

A)Applicants will be required to voluntarily submit to a urinalysis test at a laboratory chosen by the company.
B)Any applicant with positive test results will be denied employment at that time.
C)The company will not entertain applications from candidates with a history of drug or alcohol abuse.
D)All job applicants need to undergo screening for the presence of illegal drugs or alcohol as a condition for employment.

Question 55

Increases in incidents of workplace violence and concomitant increases in ______ lawsuits, by customers and co-workers of violent employees, have added urgency to the effort of checking employees' background.

A)malice
B)academic freedom
C)negligent hiring
D)substance abuse

Question 56

What is the most common way in which employers intrude upon their employee's privacy?

Question 57

In Jones v. Carrolls, LLC, the court concluded that the employee failed to prove that any of his claims fell outside of the scope of:

A)the arbitration agreement.
B)Title VII.
C)the employment contract.
D)was false light invasion of privacy.

Question 58

Justifiably suspecting a person, based on facts or circumstances, of inappropriate or criminal activities is termed:

A)a tort.
B)surveillance.
C)reasonable suspicion.
D)as a misdemeanor.

Question 59

What is false light invasion of privacy?

Question 60

What is a background screening policy?

Question 61

Which aspect of internal investigation has instigated the highest amount of litigation? Discuss.

Question 62

Describe privacy concerns in the context of third-party information request.

Question 63

Elaborate on the policy regarding employee personal files.

Question 64

Discuss why genetic testing is one of the most pressing ethical dilemma employers are facing today.

Question 65

Discuss the origin of Employee Privacy Rights.