Deck 8: Employee Benefits

Question 1

Through collective bargaining, unions have strived to check further layoffs in heavily depressed industries by agreeing to:

A) COLA increases.
B) Open shop agreements.
C) Grievance arbitration.
D) Givebacks.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is not usually part of a retirement benefit formula?

A) Number of promotions
B) Years of service
C) A stipulated percentage
D) Calculated base pay

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following outside forces would most likely spur concession bargaining?

A) High inflation
B) Low unemployment
C) High profits
D) Low turnover

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In 1935, Congress established the __________ system to provide supplemental income to retired workers.

A) Social Security
B) Unemployment
C) FICA
D) Workers' comp.

Question 5

In general, management would prefer which type of pension plan funding method?

A) Trusted plan
B) Current Expenditure plan
C) Insured plan
D) Profit-sharing plan

Question 6

The area of employee benefits that generally represents the least cost to an employer is:

A) Pensions.
B) Shift differentials.
C) Health insurance.
D) Social Security.

Question 7

A "25 and out" pension eligibility requirement refers to:

A) The employee must have 25 years of service.
B) Employees must earn $25,000 per year to retire.
C) Employees must work 25 continuous quarters to retire.
D) Employees at age 70 with 25 years of service can retire.

Question 8

Which is the least commonly negotiated concession?

A) Vacation pay
B) Holiday pay
C) Pension benefits
D) Subcontracting to nonunion suppliers

Question 9

A retirement plan which meets IRS standards and therefore allows employers to deduct pension contributions as a business expense is known as a:

A) Retirement plan.
B) Vested plan.
C) Qualified plan.
D) Funded plan.

Question 10

The reason most employees who retire today find that they are not eligible to receive private pension benefits is:

A) They did not work enough years with one employer to become vested.
B) They never worked for an employer who had a pension plan.
C) They are eligible for Social Security.
D) Their saving income level is too high.

Question 11

About ______% of all workers are included in the federal state unemployment insurance system.

A) 20
B) 62
C) 85
D) 97

Question 12

During hard economic times, unions set _____ as their highest priority in return for concessions.

A) Higher wages
B) New jobs
C) Job security
D) Four-day workweek

Question 13

The "givebacks" unions are most willing to make are usually:

A) Wages.
B) Paid time off.
C) Retirement benefits.
D) Seniority rights.

Question 14

Which employee benefit can management negotiate through collective bargaining?

A) Unemployment insurance
B) Social Security
C) Worker's compensation
D) Paid holidays

Question 15

Which of the following would not be a reason for a flexible benefit plan?

A) To better address the needs of the employees.
B) It's simple and easy to administer.
C) It helps in cost containment.
D) Better benefits can be offered.

Question 16

Union leaders are often skeptical of "pay-as-you-go" funding of pension plans that depend on which funding method?

A) Trusted plan
B) Current Expenditure plan
C) Insured plan
D) Profit-sharing plan

Question 17

In the majority of labor agreements, the number of paid vacation days an employee receives is a function of:

A) Income level.
B) Supervisor's merit evaluations.
C) Years of service.
D) Annual bonus.

Question 18

Concession bargaining generally involves:

A) Reduced seniority rights.
B) Arbitration of a settlement.
C) Reduced employment of union members.
D) Reduced wages and/or benefits.

Question 19

Employers should expect to pay the price for concessions through negotiations in all the following areas except:

A) Fewer guarantees to keep plants open.
B) More profit-sharing plans.
C) Sacrifices by management employees.
D) Union participation in decision-making.

Question 20

Employers may try to protect the investment they have made in their employees by including __________________ in the negotiations.

A) Overcompensation
B) Payback agreement
C) Limited compensation
D) Executive pay

Question 21

Which is not a required employee benefit?

A) Part-time status
B) Social Security
C) Health care
D) Workers' comp

Question 22

According to the 2005 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, _______% of U.S. workers have unpaid leave.

A) 90
B) 61
C) 87
D) 55

Question 23

A wage employment guarantee provision provides workers a minimum amount of work or compensation, regardless of whether or not work is made available.

Question 24

Benefits that employees should avoid are:

A) COLA
B) Social Security
C) Workers' Compensation
D) Health care

Question 25

Union workers typically receive substantially higher retirement benefits than nonunion workers.

Question 26

______________ provides for the continuation of medical and dental insurance for employees, spouses, and dependants in the event of termination of employment.

A) EAP
B) COBRA
C) DOE
D) CORPA

Question 27

________ is income provided to employees who have been permanently terminated from the job through no fault of their own.

A) GIS
B) Severance pay
C) Base pay
D) WEGs

Question 28

Worker's compensation has been effectively removed from the collective bargaining process by state laws.

Question 29

Unions are generally only willing to agree to "givebacks" when the survival of the company is at stake.

Question 30

Which of the following are not benefits?

A) Income maintenance
B) Employee health care
C) Pay for time not worked
D) Gift from your neighbor

Question 31

Only _______% of nonunion U.S. workers have paid holidays.

A) 25
B) 87
C) 65
D) 47

Question 32

The conveying of employee's nonforfeitable rights in a pension fund is termed:

A) Vesting.
B) Qualified plan.
C) Contributing plan.
D) Portability.

Question 33

__________ ensures) employees a minimum amount of work or compensation during a certain period of time, usually for the life of the contract.

A) WEGs
B) Base pay
C) Escape clause
D) GIS

Question 34

Supplemental Unemployment is normally given to employees whose jobs are phased out.

Question 35

Employee pension plans are permissive subjects in collective bargaining.

Question 36

A _________ on retirement provides a stipulated, fixed amount of income, usually paid monthly.

A) Cash balance
B) Defined benefit plan
C) Defined contribution plan
D) Pension benefit

Question 37

Concession bargaining and "giveback" bargaining are generally the same.

Question 38

_____________ is/are the newest and fastest growing type of retirement plans and are found in 10% of collective bargaining contracts.

A) Pension benefit corporations
B) Defined benefit plans
C) Cash balance plans
D) FRISA

Question 39

The cost of the U.S. Social Security system is borne equally by employees and employers, who both contribute to the system.

Question 40

Management negotiators prefer contributory pension plans to noncontributory plans.

Question 41

Wellness programs focus on corporate individual interventions with employees designed to identify and reduce risky behaviors such as smoking, overeating, and lack of exercise.

Question 42

Wellness programs are a form of negotiated benefits.

Question 43

Most agreements provide that if a paid holiday falls during an employee's vacation, the employee gets paid for one, but loses the other.

Question 44

Workers' compensation laws were enacted by states to protect employees and their families against permanent loss of income due to accidental injury on the job.

Question 45

The Pension Reform Act is also known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ERISA).

Question 46

Unions cannot legally declare a strike over retiree benefits because they are permissive, not mandatory, bargaining issues.

Question 47

In a qualified plan, the employer pays a portion of the funding, and the employee pays the other portion.

Question 48

Benefits are designed to guarantee employees a stream of income regardless of unforeseen circumstances.

Question 49

Comprehensive dental care plans do not require the employee to pay a deductible for covered services.

Question 50

One purpose of HMOs is to provide more comprehensive health care than is usually found in insurance plans.

Question 51

Over half of the 1980 U.S. labor agreements provided union leaders paid leaves of absence during contract negotiations.

Question 52

Vesting refers to a plan that meets standards set by the IRS.

Question 53

Most of the time, both union members and senior management are forced to accept pay cuts in an effort to save their company from bankruptcy.

Question 54

When facilities operate three eight-hour shifts, usually all three will be paid the standard shift differential.

Question 55

Over 80% of collective bargaining agreements in 1980 provided full-range legal services.

Question 56

Company negotiated benefits may provide death and disability plan coverage up to a maximum, or it may provide benefits independent of others received by the employee.

Question 57

Portability was established by the PBGC.

Question 58

A benefit plan is a guaranteed monthly payment to a former employee during retirement.

Question 59

Concession bargaining techniques are a way to ensure company benefits in exchange for less compensation on the job.

Question 60

Paid holidays are negotiated company benefit issues.

Question 61

Reporting pay clauses usually provide for employees to be paid a minimum of eight hours pay even if no work is available.