Deck 35: Employment Discrimination and Diversity

Question 1

The Equal Pay Act and other federal laws prohibit employers from engaging in gender-based wage discrimination.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

When the harassment of co-workers creates a hostile working environment, an employee may have a cause of action against an employer.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Most employers can treat their employees more or less favorably based on their religious beliefs or practices.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits job discrimination on the basis of merit.

Question 5

Sexual harassment occurs when sexual favors are demanded in return for job opportunities, promotions, salary increases, or other benefits.

Question 6

Compensatory damages are not available in cases of intentional discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Question 7

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to employers with fifteen or less employees.

Question 8

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits only intentional discrimination.

Question 9

Any federal, state, or local affirmative action program that uses racial or ethnic classifications as the basis for making decisions is subject to strict scrutiny by the courts.

Question 10

The distribution of promotions and other job benefits according to a seniority system is not normally a good defense to a suit for employment discrimination.

Question 11

If a wage differential is due to any factor other than gender, then it does not violate the Equal Pay Act.

Question 12

Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 permits private cause of action against employers for age discrimination.

Question 13

Employee demotion is one of the least frequently cited reasons for a finding of constructive discharge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Question 14

Employers can avoid liability for employment discrimination on the basis of after-acquired evidence of an employee's misconduct.

Question 15

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 defines persons with disabilities as persons with physical or mental impairments that "substantially limit" one or more everyday activities of the affected individuals.

Question 16

For an employer to successfully defend against a charge of a supervisor's sexual harassment, the plaintiff-employee must have taken a tangible employment action against the supervisor.

Question 17

Intentional discrimination by an employer against an employee is known as disparate-treatment discrimination.

Question 18

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits job discrimination against majority group individuals, such as white males.

Question 19

If a job applicant or an employee with a disability, with reasonable accommodation, can perform essential job functions, the employer must make the accommodation.

Question 20

Employers are not required to modify their job-application and selection process so that those with disabilities can compete for jobs with those who do not have disabilities.

Question 21

Merlin is a drug addict who has completed a supervised drug-rehabilitation program. Nabil used drugs casually in the past. Both work for Omni Insurance & Investments Inc. Considered to have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

A) are Merlin and Nabil.
B) is Merlin only.
C) is Nabil only.
D) none of the choices.

Question 22

Free-Flo Pipes & Plumbing Corporation is a private employer in?volved in an employment discrimination suit under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Punitive damages may be recovered against Free-Flo only if the employer

A) acted with malice or reckless indifference.
B) can easily afford to pay the amount.
C) has one hundred or more employees.
D) consents.

Question 23

Helene, a disabled person, applies for a job at Industrial Engineering Applications Inc. for which she is well quali?fied, but for which she is rejected. Industrial Engineering continues to seek applicants and eventually fills the posi?tion with a person who is not disabled. Helene is most likely to succeed in a suit against Industrial Engineering for discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 if she can show that

A) she was not hired solely because of her disabil?ity.
B) she can function well with corrective devices or on medication.
C) her disability causes her undue hardship.
D) she could not perform the job even with reasonable accommodation.

Question 24

Solar Power Panels Corporation requires its employees to have a high school diploma, claiming a connection between a high school edu?ca?tion and job performance. In a suit against Solar Power under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, this is shown to have a discriminatory effect. Solar Power has

A) an affirmative action defense.
B) a bona fide occupational qualification defense.
C) a business necessity defense.
D) no defense.

Question 25

Boni, the owner of Café Rico, knows about, but does not take any action to prevent, the sexual harassment of employees. Boni and the café may be liable for such harassment by

A) an employee's previous employer.
B) a customer or a co-worker.
C) an employee's spouse or other close relative.
D) none of the choices.

Question 26

Insurance Sales Corporation gives preferential treatment in hiring and promotion to the members of all protected classes. This treatment results in discrimination against members of the majority. This is

A) disparate-impact discrimination.
B) gender discrimination.
C) not discrimination.
D) reverse discrimination.

Question 27

Fact Pattern 35-1B (Questions B14-B15 apply)
Kyla replaces Lomax in his job at Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Corporation (MVMC).
Refer to Fact Pattern 35-1B. To succeed with an age-discrimination claim against MVMC, Lomax will have to show that

A) Kyla is not qualified for Lomax's job.
B) Lomax is qualified for his job.
C) MVMC's qualifications for Lomax's job are too high.
D) no one could do Lomax's job as well as he could.

Question 28

Buena files a suit against Credit Services Corporation under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleging employment discrimination on the basis of gender on a disparate-impact theory. To succeed, Buena must show that Credit Services hires fewer women than the per?centage of

A) qualified women in the local labor market.
B) qualified women in the United States.
C) women in Credit Services's state.
D) women who apply to Credit Services for work.

Question 29

Fact Pattern 35-1B (Questions B14-B15 apply)
Kyla replaces Lomax in his job at Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Corporation (MVMC).
Refer to Fact Pattern 35-1B. Lomax believes that he has been discriminated against on the basis of his age. For the Age Dis?crimination in Employment Act of 1967 to apply

A) Kyla must be forty years of age or younger.
B) Kyla must be forty years of age or older.
C) Lomax must be forty years of age or older.
D) Lomax must have been MVMC's employee for at least forty years.

Question 30

Elsa participates in an investigation into possible violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 at Fabrication Foundry, Inc., where she works. As a result, Elsa's employer demotes her. Elsa can file a

A) harassment complaint.
B) retaliation claim.
C) constructive discharge claim.
D) disparate-impact discrimination claim.

Question 31

Lumber Mill Inc. is a private employer with more than twenty employees. Its employment practices do not indicate a past pattern of discrimination. It is located in Metro City, which has recently seen an increase in the number of its citizens who are members of protected classes. Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Lumber Mill is

A) required to promote diversity in its workplace, but not to implement an affirmative action policy.
B) not required to implement an affirmative action policy.
C) required to implement an affirmative action policy until the number of its minority employees is proportional to the number of minority individuals in Metro's labor pool.
D) required to implement an affirmative action policy that considers race merely as a plus factor.

Question 32

Lisa brings a successful lawsuit against her employer Metal Mold & Die Corporation for unlawful discrimination. Lisa may be awarded

A) back pay, but not retroactive promotions.
B) retroactive promotions, but not back pay.
C) damages, but not back pay.
D) back pay, retroactive promotions, and damages.

Question 33

Melanie files an employment discrimination suit against Natural Resources Industries Corporation under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on a disparate-impact theory. To succeed, Melanie must show that members of a protected class are adversely affected by any of the following except the employer's

A) practices.
B) procedures.
C) tests.
D) seniority system.

Question 34

Conrad and Delilah are employees of EcoCrop Feed & Seed Corporation. Under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, EcoCrop can legitimately pay different wages on the basis of

A) seniority.
B) job descriptions.
C) substantial equality of skill, effort, and responsibility.
D) gender.

Question 35

Sara believes that she was rejected for a position at Trek n' Travel Agency on the basis of her race. Sara files a suit against Trek n' Travel under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. To es?tablish a prima facie case of employment discrimi?nation, Sara must show all of the following except that

A) she is a member of a protected class.
B) she applied and was qualified for the job in question.
C) she was rejected for a position by Trek n' Travel.
D) other persons of her race hold similar positions with other similar employers.

Question 36

Satin, Silk & Swimwear, a women's clothing store, employs female attendants who as?sist customers in the dressing rooms. Toribio, a forty-one-year-old male, ap?plies for an atten?dant's job, but is not hired. In Toribio's suit against Satin, Silk & Swimwear for em?ployment discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the store has

A) no defense.
B) a bona fide occupational qualification defense.
C) a business necessity defense.
D) an affirmative action defense.

Question 37

Emylee, an employee of Farm Supplies, Inc., files a sexual-harassment suit against Gowan, her supervisor. Emylee wins. Farm Supplies may also be liable if it had effective harassment policies and complaint procedures, and

A) none of the employees followed them.
B) Emylee followed them.
C) all of the employees were aware of them.
D) Gowan followed them.

Question 38

Ruta is a supervisor for Subs & Suds, a restaurant. Tim is a Subs employee. The owner announces that some em?ployees will be discharged. Ruta tells Tim that for sexual favors she will give him an excellent performance review and recommend a raise. This is

A) harassment on the basis of sexual orientation.
B) hostile-environment harassment.
C) not harassment.
D) quid pro quo harassment.

Question 39

Iago believes that he is a victim of a form of employment discrimination that falls under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Compliance with this statute is monitored by

A) employees and job applicants, not an administrative agency.
B) employers and businesses, not an administrative agency.
C) the courts and Congress, not an administrative agency.
D) the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission.

Question 40

Neville, a member of a protected class, applies for a job with Origami Paper Products Corporation, but fails the company's employment test and is not hired. Neville believes that the test has an unintentionally discriminatory effect. If so, this is

A) reverse discrimination.
B) disparate-impact discrimination.
C) disparate-treatment discrimination.
D) not discrimination.

Question 41

For twenty years, Maynard works for Natural Gas Wells, Inc., which employs more than five hundred persons in two states. Natural Gas Wells drills for and mines natural gas to sell and transport to refineries, which in turn pipes liquefied gas to other states. Maynard starts as an unskilled worker in the drilling fields. After a career of positive job evaluations and pay raises, Maynard is ultimately promoted to the position of chief of maintenance for a dozen wellheads. Five years later, a new employee, Oberto, is hired to oversee operations at all of the wellheads. Oberto demotes Maynard, who is now over the age of forty, and freezes his salary. Oberto demotes five other employees over the age of forty and places Maynard under the supervision of Pitt, who is twenty-three. Maynard overhears Pitt say, "We're going to have to do away with these old men." Maynard quits and files a suit against Natural Gas Wells for employment discrimination. Should he prevail? Explain.

Question 42

Veronica is a repairperson for Wind Power Company. The job requires traveling to remote areas to make repairs to windmills, transmission towers, and power stations under any conditions. Veronica has had the job longer than other employees. Veronica applies for a promotion to a supervisory position that requires constant communica?tion with others in the field. Wind Power rejects the application on the ground that Veronica is hearing impaired. Wind Power acknowledges that Veronica is otherwise quali?fied, but asserts that it "needs someone who does not have a hear?ing problem." Veronica files a suit against Wind Power under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. What is the issue, and what are the relevant considerations on which its resolution depends?