Deck 10: Work-Life Conflicts and Other Diversity Issues

Question 1

Under the FMLA, employees are entitled to: ​

A)have all benefits maintained under the same conditions as if the employee had not taken leave
B)have only health benefits maintained under the same conditions as if the employee had not taken leave
C)be restored to the exact same position they left if they are deemed a "key employee"
D)a minimum of ½ salary during their leave

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In order to qualify for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, one condition is that an employee have been on the job for at least 6 months.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Under the FMLA:

A)pregnancy is a "serious health condition" triggering the right to FMLA leave
B)pregnancy is not a "serious health condition" triggering the right to FMLA leave unless there are complications
C)only a pregnant employee may receive leave under the FMLA
D)pregnancy is a unique category of disability for employers

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Legal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation is found in:

A)Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
B)statutes in about twenty states
C)the U.S. Constitution, under which public employers must show that a "compelling governmental interest" is served by the discrimination
D)Executive Order 11246

Question 5

To qualify for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), an employee must have worked: ​

A)at least 1250 hours during the previous 12 months ​
B)at least 625 hours during the previous 6 months
C)at least 2080 hours during the previous 12 months
D)at least 1040 hours during the previous 6 months

Question 6

The federal Jury System Improvements Act: ​

A)protects persons who serve on federal juries from discharge, intimidation or coercion by their employers because of their jury service
B)applies a Title VII approach to selection of jurors
C)reduces the number of jurors on a standard jury from 12 to 6 ​
D)requires that employers pay their employees at their regular rate of pay for the time spent serving on a federal jury

Question 7

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)  requires that:

A)all persons returning from military service must be reemployed
B)employers must attempt to reinstate persons returning from military service into the positions that they would have attained absent service, including any promotions
C)employers continue to provide at least partial pay to employees serving in the military for up to 24 months

Question 8

An employee who had taken periods of FMLA leave over a two year period was terminated for poor attendance because of those absences. She brings suit under the FMLA. What should the court rule? ​

A)the employer did not violate the FMLA because the employee was granted leave
B)the employer did not violate the FMLA because she was terminated for her absences and not for having requested or taken FMLA leave
C)the employer violated the FMLA because all employees become eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave at the start of each new calendar year; "rolling" calendars are illegal
D)the employer violated the FMLA because the employee was terminated based on absences that qualified as FMLA leave

Question 9

Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA):

A)employers are required to provide leave for childbirth and medical problems related to pregnancy
B)employers are required to restore employees returning from pregnancy leave to their former jobs or equivalent positions
C)employers are prohibited from establishing uniform requirements for when pregnancy leave must begin or end
D)employers may require employees to take their leave under the FMLa

Question 10

Which of the following is a "qualifying event" under the FMLA?

A)birth of a child
B)death of a parent
C)serious health condition of an employee's grandparent
D)serious health condition of a fiancee

Question 11

The EEOC's guidelines hold that broad English-only rules applied at all times are: ​

A)presumptively discriminatory ​
B)presumptively non-discriminatory
C)valid, if an employer can show a business necessity for a broad-cased, all-time ban on other languages
D)invalid, because the employer can never show a business necessity for a broad-based, all-time ban on other languages

Question 12

Under the some circumstances, employers can refuse to restore key employees to their previous positions pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act.
​

Question 13

"Hopalong" Jones was a cowboy working on a cattle ranch out west.  He has worked at the ranch for three years and done an excellent job.  He is also a two time bull riding champion at the state rodeo competition.  He is fired when he admits to being gay. ​

A)Hopalong is protected under the protected sex classification under Title VII
B)since being a cowboy is such a macho job, being heterosexual is considered a BFOQ
C)sexual orientation is a protected class in some states but not in others
D)Hopalong has no federal or state protection regarding his sexual orientation

Question 14

Under the FMLA, employers have the right to:

A)require that employees provide documentation of any serious health condition prior to being granted leave
B)cancel the leave of "key employees"
C)delay the start of leave for employees who fail to provide 30 days notice when the need for leave is foreseeable
D)terminate employees who fail to provide required documentation

Question 15

Under the FMLA:

A)employers may require that any paid leave available to an employee be used and counted toward an employee's FMLA leave
B)employers may require that the employee stay on leave longer than they need if it satisfies an administrative purpose or convenience for the employer
C)employers may contact the employee at home by phone or e-mail with company question but cannot require the employee to physically come to the premises
D)during a valid leave, the employee is protected or shielded from layoffs or termination that would have occurred anyway

Question 16

The escalator principle is a doctrine that permits employees absent under the FMLA to be promoted to the positions they would have obtained if not absent.

Question 17

There is little federal protection for discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender persons.

Question 18

The accent of an employee or job applicant can lawfully be taken into consideration when: ​

A)the firm is using its affirmative action program to diversify its workforce
B)when few English-speaking applicants or employees are available
C)when communications are a significant part of the job in question, and the person's accent substantially interferes with the ability to communicate
D)when communications are a significant part of the job in question, and the person's accent interferes in some degree with the ability to communicate

Question 19

Regarding the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which of the following statements is NOT true? ​

A)the PDA requires that employers grant leave for childbirth
B)the PDA has a significant influence on leave policies, especially because the FMLA applies only to employers with 50 or more employees
C)the PDA  requires that employers treat people with pregnancy-related conditions the same as people with other medical conditions who are similar in their ability or inability to work
D)neither " the PDA requires that employers grant leave for childbirth" nor " he PDA has a significant influence on leave policies, especially because the FMLA applies only to employers with 50 or more employees" are true

Question 20

"Serious health conditions" include:

A)pregnancy
B)all conditions that require hospitalization
C)all conditions that require treatment by a health care provider
D)all of these

Question 21

You need to hire a new medical technician for the emergency room of your hospital. The technician must have a thorough knowledge of medical terms and procedures, and will be interviewing patients to determine the nature and extent of their problems before they are routed to a doctor or to the waiting room. Most of the qualified candidates will be those who comes from Asian countries, who have studied medicine in their home countries, but whose MD degrees are not recognized by the U.S. Can you require that only English-speaking candidates need apply? ​

A)yes, because most of the patients will be English speaking
B)yes, because communication will be an integral part of the job, and most often communication will be required in an emergency situation
C)no, because under Title VII, English-only speaking requirements are presumptively discriminatory
D)no, because most of the qualified candidates will be from countries for which the first language spoken is not English

Question 22

A major University has advertised for a non-research lecturer position in its Economics Department. When they evaluate the applicants, one resume clearly stands out as excellently qualified.  When the applicant came in for an interview, she is asked to complete a questionnaire with a number of open ended questions prior to the actual interview.  The questionnaire was extremely well answered and evidenced perfect grammar, perfect penmanship and perfect spelling.  The answers were lucid and well thought out.  Unfortunately, during the interview most in the department had trouble understanding the candidate due to her extremely heavy Nigerian accent.  If the university hires someone else, has the university violated any discrimination laws?

Question 23

Why is each of the following good legal advice?
a.Employers must not attempt to discourage eligible employees from taking FMLA leave or attempt to delay the taking of leave.
b."No fault" attendance policies must be either discontinued or exceptions must be made for employees on FMLA leave.
c.Employees should be notified promptly and in writing whether their leave qualifies as FMLA leave.
d.Employer's should consider an employee's or applicant's accent only to the extent that communication is a significant part of the job in question and the individual's accent impedes communication.
e.Employers should generally refrain from adopting English-only rules. If they are used, employees should be clearly informed that they are in effect, the rules should be no broader than necessary to accomplish necessary business purposes, and enforcement should not be rigid.

Question 24

A very troublesome employee has just told you that he wants to apply for FMLA leave because his wife is seriously ill. He has taken leave before because of her illness, and depending upon how you calculate it, may have already taken the maximum amount for the year. You know that if you use a "rolling 12 month period," he will not qualify, and if he is denied leave, he may actually quit, which would make many people happy. However, your firm's leave policy does not specify how leave taken will be calculated, which means that if he sued and the case went to litigation, the court would apply a "calendar year" calculation for the leave requested, since you've just begun a new calendar year, and under that calculation, he would be entitled to leave. Of the following choices, what should you do? ​

A)deny the leave, and take your chances; tell him that he's already had the maximum leave under the "rolling 12 month" calculation. He's been far too troublesome for the firm, and his leaving would be a good outcome ​
B)deny the leave, but tell him that it's because has not been a productive employee, and when he improves, you'll consider more leave
C)grant the leave, and take your chances; maybe he'll straighten out when he comes back
D)grant the leave, and ask how he's doing; tell him that when he comes back, you'd like to sit down with him and see if you can help him resolve the trouble he's been having at work

Question 25

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)DOES NOT require that:

A)an employer must maintain the health insurance for an employee reporting to military service for short stints of service (less than 31 days)
B)an employer must maintain the health insurance for an employee who serves in the military for up to 24 months, if the employee pays the full cost of group coverage
C)employers are not required to maintain health insurance coverage for their  employees in military service beyond a period of 30 days
D)all of these

Question 26

In the event of the serious injury or illness of a service member incurred while on active duty, the maximum period of leave under the FMLA during a 12 month period is: ​

A)six weeks
B)twelve weeks
C)twenty weeks
D)twenty-six weeks