Deck 13: Employee Rights and Discipline

Question 1

The right of privacy,which is recognized by law and legal commentary,includes the general principle of "personal autonomy" and largely involves an individual's right to be left alone.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

One way to help avoid implied contract lawsuits is to have written proof that employees have read employment-at-will disclaimers.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

In law,negligence is the failure to honor established contracts.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The significance of wrongful discharge suits is that they challenge the employer's right under the employment-at-will doctrine to unilaterally discharge employees.

Question 5

During her interview,Angela is told by her future manager that if she is a good worker she will have a permanent job with the company.Her manager has likely created an implied contract with Angela.

Question 6

Whistle-blowing is a protected right of employees.

Question 7

Approximately two million workers are discharged each year.

Question 8

Negligent hiring occurs when an employer hires an employee that is not capable of doing the job they were hired for.

Question 9

Telling an employee that their job is secure as long as they perform satisfactorily and are loyal to the organization does not make an implied contract binding.

Question 10

Wrongful discharge is considered proper under the employment-at-will doctrine.

Question 11

Most legal experts suggest employers use antipiracy agreements rather than noncompete
agreements.

Question 12

Employee rights frequently involve an employer's alleged invasion of an employee's right to privacy.

Question 13

Under the Worker's Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act,notice of closure or layoff affecting 50 or more workers must be given to the highest elected local official.

Question 14

The U.S.Constitution guarantees employees a property right to their jobs,unless the employee signs a statement acknowledging the at-will relationship.

Question 15

The Workers' Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act (WARN)requires many employers to provide 60 days notice of plant closure and mass layoff.

Question 16

Federal employees are not covered by the federal Whistleblower Protection Act.

Question 17

The employment-at-will doctrine gives managers and supervisors the unrestricted right of termination.

Question 18

An implied contract may result from statements found in employee handbooks or other employment documents.

Question 19

Constructive discharge cases involve employees who voluntarily quit,but claim they were forced to resign.

Question 20

The employment-at-will doctrine states that either the employee or the employer may terminate the employment relationship for any reason.

Question 21

U.S.courts have found random searches of employee lockers,suitcases,and toolboxes to be illegal.

Question 22

Explicit contracts are not enforceable in court if either the employee or employer violates any provisions of the agreement.

Question 23

Today,most companies only drug test when reasonable suspicion or probable cause exists

Question 24

The failure to document earlier actions often results in management not imposing disciplinary penalty when a transgression is committed.

Question 25

If a state law allows employees to examine their files,employers can insist that someone from HR,or a supervisor,be present to ensure that nothing is taken,added,or changed.

Question 26

One advantage of impairment testing is that it focuses on off-duty behavior rather than workplace conduct.

Question 27

In an organizational setting,discipline should be viewed as a way of correcting poor performance rather than a punishment.

Question 28

A third of employers have fired workers for misusing the Internet.

Question 29

An employee's immediate supervisor is the logical person to apply the company's disciplinary procedure.

Question 30

A number of states have passed laws that prohibit employers from disciplining or firing employees for activities they pursue offsite on their own time as long as they are illegal

Question 31

It is increasingly common for employees to quit or resign from their jobs because the intolerable acts of their employers left them no choice.

Question 32

Impairment testing is the first step in random drug testing.

Question 33

Few federal laws protect workers from being watched.

Question 34

A supervisor in a romantic relationship with a subordinate becomes immediately vulnerable to a sexual harassment claim.

Question 35

In the private sector,drug testing is largely regulated by individual states.

Question 36

More than a quarter of employers have fired workers for misusing e-mail.

Question 37

Random searches of employee's personal belongings without probable cause should be avoided.

Question 38

Because personnel files are the employer's property,an employee may be barred from seeing his or her file.

Question 39

Employers can discipline employees for off-duty conduct;however,there must be a relationship between the employee's behavior and its effect on the organization.

Question 40

Employees are correct in assuming that their rights to privacy extend to e-mail and voice mail messages.

Question 41

Bill has been found guilty of theft,a termination offense.Before he is discharged,his manager must apply all the steps of progressive discipline.

Question 42

Ombudsmen solve problems through negotiation and mediation activities between supervisors and subordinates.

Question 43

Dreadlocks and beards are protected religious observance rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Question 44

Employees do not have the right to have an attorney present during an investigative interview.

Question 45

Due process is generally defined as the employee's right to be heard.

Question 46

With an open-door policy,decisions tend to be consistent across managers.

Question 47

Decision-making leave is typically a paid leave.

Question 48

Documentation of employee misconduct includes stating the improvement expected by the employer.

Question 49

Progressive discipline results from using positive reinforcement instead of punishment to correct behavioral problems.

Question 50

The correct sequence of progressive discipline is as follows: (1)written warning,(2)oral warning,(3)suspension,and (4)discharge.

Question 51

Peer-review boards consist only of people whose jobs are similar to that of the person appearing before the board.

Question 52

One of the goals of discipline is that it should be seen as training that molds and strengthens the desirable conduct---or corrects undesirable conduct---and develops self-control.

Question 53

Positive discipline is based on a mutual problem-solving approach,but resolutions are still mandated by management.

Question 54

Positive discipline relies on "reminders" given to employees as a way to improve performance.

Question 55

Progressive discipline is designed to force an employee to improve his or her performance.

Question 56

Mediation is a formal process resulting in compromise.

Question 57

Under the Weingarten ruling,an employer must bargain with the employee's representative during an investigative interview.

Question 58

The most significant cause of inadequate documentation is that managers often do not know what constitutes good documentation.

Question 59

Step-review systems involving nonunion employees are very similar to grievance procedures used in union contracts.

Question 60

The NLRB v Weingarten ruling requires that nonunion employees always be afforded the right to representation during an investigative interview.

Question 61

Which of the following does not apply to whistle-blowing?

A) whistle-blowing is a protected right of employees
B) employers cannot discharge employees for reporting corporate wrongdoings
C) employers can discipline,but not discharge employees for reporting corporate wrongdoings
D) employers may be liable for huge fines if guilty of whistle-blowing charges

Question 62

Discharge for refusing to violate a professional code of conduct falls under which exception to employment-at-will?

A) violation of public policy
B) implied contract
C) implied covenant
D) it does not fall under an exception

Question 63

An implied employment contract:

A) is valid only if in writing.
B) covers approximately 90 percent of the American workforce.
C) exists after an employee passes his or her probation period.
D) can result from statements made in an employee handbook or HR policy manual.

Question 64

Which of the following is not an exception to the employment-at-will doctrine?

A) implied contract
B) established protection
C) violation of public policy
D) implied covenant

Question 65

Organizations are required by law to comply with ethical guidelines.

Question 66

In _____ a court found that a provision in an employee handbook constituted a unilateral enforceable contract with employees.

A) Adair v.United States
B) NLRB v.Weingarten,Inc.
C) Toussaint v.Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan
D) Young v.Southwestern Savings and Loan Association

Question 67

Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees under all of the following except:

A) the Workers' Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act
B) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
C) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
D) The Americans with Disabilities Act

Question 68

Which of the following is the dominant principle governing private-sector employment relationships?

A) the employment-at-will principle
B) the job-as-property doctrine
C) implied contract rules
D) implied covenant rules

Question 69

In 1908 the Supreme Court upheld the employment-at-will doctrine in _____.

A) NLRB v.Weingarten,Inc.
B) EEOC v.Waffle House,Inc.
C) International Union v.Johnson Controls
D) Adair v.United States

Question 70

The expectations of fair exchange of employment obligations between an employee and employer is referred to as:

A) employment-at-will
B) a no-win situation for employees
C) a Catch-22 situation for employers
D) psychological contract

Question 71

One of the primary goals of ethics training is to avoid adverse publicity.

Question 72

Because employers cannot predict with certainty the future behavior of employees despite background checking,negligent hiring lawsuits are seen as:

A) a no-win situation for employers
B) a no-win situation for employees
C) a Catch-22 situation for employers
D) a necessary evil

Question 73

Employers defend their intrusion into employee privacy by noting:

A) their Constitutional right
B) their legitimate business interest
C) that they are required by law
D) OSHA regulations

Question 74

Under the employment-at-will doctrine,who can terminate the employment relationship?

A) only employees
B) only employers
C) employees,unions,or employers
D) employees or employers

Question 75

Under the employment-at-will doctrine,employers may terminate employees for any of the following reasons except:

A) poor performance.
B) cooperating with authorities in regard to an OSHA complaint.
C) adequate performance.
D) the color of the employee's eyes.

Question 76

Which of the following groups cannot grant rights to employees?

A) employers
B) state legislatures
C) federal courts
D) unions

Question 77

Approximately _____ workers are discharged each year.

A) A half-million
B) One million
C) Two million
D) Five million

Question 78

Which exception to the employment-at-will doctrine occurs when a lack of good faith and fair dealing by the employer has been suggested?

A) implied contract
B) established protection
C) violation of public policy
D) implied covenant

Question 79

Ethics can be defined as a set of standards of acceptable conduct.

Question 80

The minimum advance notice of plant closings or layoffs affecting 50 or more full-time employees required by the Workers' Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act of 1989 is:

A) 60 days.
B) 180 months.
C) 7 days.
D) 120 months.