Question 1

A hotel in Tennessee is hiring a concierge. An applicant from Spain understands very little English. True or false: If the hotel refuses to hire the applicant due to the inability to speak English, the hotel will be illegally discriminating.

Accepted Answer

The ability to speak fluent English may be considered a necessary qualification for this job, as the main duty of a concierge is to communicate with guests. Therefore, the hotel would not be illegally discriminating by refusing to hire the applicant who doesn't understand English.

Question 2

If the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission fails to act on a discrimination claim within 180 days, the claimant automatically loses the case and has no alternative remedies.

Accepted Answer

If the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) fails to act on a discrimination claim within 180 days, the claimant still has the option to pursue the claim in court. The 180-day time limit only applies to filing a charge with the EEOC, not to taking legal action.

Question 3

For purposes of determining whether an employee is entitled to overtime pay, which of the following is not counted as time worked?

Accepted Answer

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require employers to compensate employees for commuting time to and from work. However, time spent in required training, rest periods of twenty minutes or less, and time needed to total cash register receipts after regular work hours are regarded as work time for which the employee must be compensated, including overtime pay.

Question 4

Which of the following is not true about the Immigration Reform and Control Act?

Accepted Answer

The Immigration Reform and Control Act does not require employers to begin deportation proceedings against an employee who cannot produce the necessary paperwork in the allotted time. Instead, the employer is required to terminate the employment of such an employee.

Question 5

Which of the following is not a protected class for purposes of illegal job description?

Accepted Answer

Place of residence within the United States is not a protected class for purposes of illegal job description. However, sex, national origin, and pregnancy are protected classes and it is illegal to discriminate against job applicants on the basis of these characteristics.

Question 6

A supervisor asked one of his employees he managed out on a date. The employee had been admiring the supervisor for weeks and was very pleased with the invitation. She quickly accepted. True or false: The facts constitute sexual harassment.

Accepted Answer

Sexual harassment typically involves unwelcome conduct. In this scenario, the employee was pleased and accepted the invitation, indicating the conduct was welcome.

Question 7

Companies should establish a sexual harassment policy containing all but which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Companies should establish a sexual harassment policy that allows employees to file complaints through multiple channels, including HR or a designated representative, and not just through their immediate supervisor. This provides employees with more options and can prevent situations where the supervisor is the one who is engaging in harassment or retaliating against the victim.

Question 8

All employees are subject to the minimum wage requirement.

Accepted Answer

Certain categories of employees, such as tipped employees, student workers, and some seasonal workers, may be exempt from the minimum wage requirement under specific conditions outlined by federal or state laws.

Question 9

In a discrimination case, the amount of compensatory damages an employer may be required to pay is unlimited.

Accepted Answer

The amount of compensatory damages an employer may be required to pay in a discrimination case is capped by federal law, with limits based on the size of the employer.

Question 10

An employee who works at the front desk of a hotel has requested a weekend day off to celebrate an annual religious holiday. The hotel is particularly busy on the weekend, and the employer is hesitant to release the employee from job obligations. Which of the following is false?

Accepted Answer

Employers are generally required to attempt to accommodate employees' religious practices unless doing so would result in undue hardship for the business. Refusing without attempting to accommodate is not typically permissible.

Question 11

A hotel is hiring a marketing and sales person to promote increased convention sales. The hotel refuses to hire an applicant who is 24 years old because it wants a more mature person for the job. Does the refusal of the hotel to consider the applicant constitute illegal discrimination?

Accepted Answer

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age. Therefore, refusing to hire someone because they are considered not mature enough at 24 does not constitute illegal discrimination under this law.

Question 12

Restrictions on employment of young persons include all of the following except:

Accepted Answer

None of the restrictions listed have anything to do with the method of transportation used by the young person to travel to and from work.

Question 13

Which of the following is an employer not required to do as an accommodation to an employee with a disability?

Accepted Answer

While an employer may be required to provide accommodations related to vision impairments, such as modifying training materials or providing screen reader software, they are not typically required to purchase glasses for an employee. This falls under the category of personal use items, and is not considered a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Question 14

Congress sets the minimum wage; states may not pass laws varying from the minimum wage set by Congress.

Accepted Answer

States can pass laws establishing a higher minimum wage than that set by Congress, but they cannot set a lower minimum wage.

Question 15

Which of the following does the Fair Labor Standards Act not require?

Accepted Answer

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not contain provisions against age discrimination. However, other laws such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) provide protection against such discrimination. The FLSA primarily focuses on setting standards for minimum wages, overtime pay, child labor, and recordkeeping.

Question 16

An employer has no liability for sexual harassment committed by a non-supervisory co-worker.

Accepted Answer

An employer can be held liable for sexual harassment committed by a non-supervisory co-worker if the employer knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take appropriate action to address it.

Question 17

Which of the following is an example of sexual harassment in the form of a hostile work environment?

Accepted Answer

Persistent lewd remarks and pinups create a hostile work environment, which is a form of sexual harassment.

Answer: A and B 
 Both scenarios involve a person experiencing negative consequences (denial of promotion and demotion) because they did not comply with their supervisor's sexual advances. This also creates a hostile work environment.

Answer: D 
 While declining to share a hotel room with a female boss is not a form of sexual harassment, the denial of training opportunities that would have qualified the male employee for promotion suggests that there may be retaliation against him for not complying with the boss's request. However, this scenario does not necessarily create a hostile work environment as there is no persistent behavior or pattern of actions.

Question 18

A fifteen-story hotel is hiring someone to wash exterior windows. Due to the dangers of the job, it sought to hire only males. True or false: By considering only males in this circumstance, the hotel violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Accepted Answer

Discrimination based on sex is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. By only considering males for the job, the hotel is engaging in unlawful gender discrimination.

Question 19

Courts have accepted the argument that comparable work requires equal pay.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Courts have accepted the argument that comparable...

Question 20

Based on the Civil Rights Act of 1991, compensatory and punitive damages are remedies available to plaintiffs who have been discriminated against on all but which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 allows for compensatory and punitive damages in cases of discrimination based on religion, disability, and race, but not for age discrimination. Age discrimination remedies are primarily governed by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which does not include provisions for compensatory and punitive damages in the same way as the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

Quiz 14: Employment