Question 1

You are an HR manager with a large manufacturing firm. Yesterday, you heard one of your recruiters ask an applicant the following question: "What is your religion?" Would this be an employment standard to avoid? If this is an employment standard to avoid, what law or court decision is it based upon?

Accepted Answer

D) Under Title VII, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate in hiring, firing, promoting, compensating, or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin.

Question 2

You are a human resource manager with a large manufacturing firm. Yesterday you heard one of your recruiters ask an applicant the following question: "How old are you?" Would this be an employment standard to avoid? If this is an employment standard to avoid, what law or court decision is it based on?

Accepted Answer

B) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals who are age 40 or older. Questions asked about an applicant's age or date of birth may be ill-advised. However, a firm may ask for age information to comply with the child labor law. For example, the question could be asked, "Are you under the age of 18?"

Question 3

Which federal legislation is based on the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

Accepted Answer

B) The oldest federal legislation affecting staffing is the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which is based on the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, this Act provides that all citizens have the same right "as enjoyed by white citizens. . . to inherit, purchase. . . hold, and convey. . . property, [and that] all persons. . . shall have the same right to make and enforce contracts. . . as enjoyed by white citizens."

Question 4

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act applies to employers with ________ or more employees.

Accepted Answer

A) Title VII covers employers engaged in or affecting interstate commerce who have 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. Also included in the definition of employers are state and local governments, schools, colleges, unions, and private employment agencies that procure employees for an employer with 15 or more employees.

Question 5

In the landmark decision involving ________, the Supreme Court unanimously decided that an employee who was linked to a coworker who made a discrimination charge should also be protected from workplace retaliation.

Accepted Answer

C) In a landmark decision involving Thompson v North American Stainless L.P.U.S., the Supreme Court expanded the scope of who might bring a retaliation charge. The Court unanimously decided that an employee who was linked to a coworker who made a discrimination charge should also be protected from workplace retaliation. The court's ruling cited the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v White decision.

Question 6

According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers may not discriminate based on ________.

Accepted Answer

B) Under Title VII, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate in hiring, firing, promoting, compensating, or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. Other laws address discrimination based on age, disability, and pregnancy.

Question 7

What Supreme Court case ruled that there is an implied right to sue on a retaliation basis under the Civil Rights Act of 1866?

Accepted Answer

B) There is no statute of limitations to the Act, as evidenced by the fact that it continues to be used today. For example, in 2008, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in the case of CBOCS West Inc. v Humphries, that there is an implied right to sue on a retaliation basis under the Civil Rights Act of 1866, even though that law does not explicitly include a cause of action for retaliation. A former African-American Cracker Barrel assistant manager claimed he was fired for complaining to management about race discrimination.

Question 8

What is the most significant regulation issued by EEOC?

Accepted Answer

B) The EEOC is empowered to investigate, conciliate, and litigate charges of discrimination arising under provisions of Title VII. In addition, the commission has the responsibility of issuing procedural regulations and interpretations of Title VII and the other statutes it enforces. The most significant regulation issued by EEOC is the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures.

Question 9

Comparable worth is best defined as ________.

Accepted Answer

C) Since the passage of the Equal Pay Act, there has been much discussion to expand its coverage to include the concept comparable worth, or pay equity. Comparable worth requires determination of the values of dissimilar jobs (such as company nurse and welder) by comparing them under some form of job evaluation, and the assignment of pay rates according to their evaluated worth.

Question 10

Which act prohibits an employer from paying an employee of one gender less money than an employee of the opposite gender where the jobs require equal skills, effort, and responsibility and are performed under similar working conditions?

Accepted Answer

D) Passed as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) prohibits an employer from paying an employee of one gender less money than an employee of the opposite gender, if both employees do work that is substantially the same. The Act was passed largely to overcome the outdated belief that a man should be paid more in society than a woman and covers work within the same physical place of business.

Question 11

The Equal Pay Act permits pay distinctions to be made based on certain factors. Which of the following is NOT one of those factors?

Accepted Answer

A) Passed as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) prohibits an employer from paying an employee of one gender less money than an employee of the opposite gender, if both employees do work that is substantially the same. Pay differences are allowable based on merit, seniority, and production quality.

Question 12

The Age Discrimination Act is administered by the ________.

Accepted Answer

C) The EEOC is responsible for administering the ADEA. The Act pertains to employers who have 20 or more employees for 20 or more calendar weeks (either in the current or preceding calendar year); unions with 25 or more members; employment agencies; and federal, state, and local government subunits.

Question 13

What is the reason that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 remains a force in equal employment opportunity law?

Accepted Answer

A) The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which is based on the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, has no statute of limitations, as evidenced by the fact that it continues to be used today. Specifically, this Act provides that all citizens have the same right "as enjoyed by white citizens. . . to inherit, purchase. . . hold, and convey. . . property, [and that] all persons. . . shall have the same right to make and enforce contracts. . . as enjoyed by white citizens."

Question 14

Anita is applying for a job with Greyhound Bus to work as an intercity bus driver. According to a 1974 court ruling regarding Greyhound, Anita must be age ________ or younger.

Accepted Answer

A) In a 1974 Seventh Circuit Court decision, the court ruled that Greyhound did not violate the ADEA when it refused to hire persons 35 years of age or older as intercity bus drivers because the likelihood of risk or harm to its passengers was involved. Greyhound presented evidence concerning degenerative physical and sensory changes that humans undergo at about age 35 that have a detrimental effect on driving skills, and that the changes are not detectable by physical tests.

Question 15

The Age Discrimination Act differs from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act in that it ________.

Accepted Answer

A) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act differs from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act in providing for a trial by jury and carrying a possible criminal penalty for violation of the Act. The trial-by-jury provision is important because juries are thought to have great sympathy for older people who may have been discriminated against.

Question 16

Which of the following agencies is responsible for enforcing Title VII?

Accepted Answer

C) The Civil Rights Act of 1964 also created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and assigned enforcement of Title VII to this agency. Consisting of five members appointed by the president, the EEOC is empowered to investigate, conciliate, and litigate charges of discrimination arising under provisions of Title VII.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT True about the Age Discrimination in Employment Act?

Accepted Answer

D) The Act pertains to employers who have at least 20 employees but not 10. The ADEA provides for a trial by jury and carries a possible criminal penalty for violation. The law prohibits employer discrimination against anyone age 40 or older.

Question 18

The burden of proving the necessity for a BFOQ rests entirely on the ________.

Accepted Answer

C) According to Title VII, it is not: an unlawful employment practice for an employer to hire and employ employees. . . on the basis of his religion, sex, or national origin in those certain instances where religion, sex, or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the particular business or enterprise. The burden of proving the necessity for a BFOQ rests entirely on the employer.

Question 19

Tom is a pilot for Southwest Airlines. According to court rulings, at what age must Tom retire from his job as a commercial pilot?

Accepted Answer

C) Courts have continued to rule that the Federal Aviation Administration adequately explained its longstanding rule that it can force commercial pilots to retire at age 60. The age 60 rule was first imposed in 1959 and was long controversial. However, in 2007, the retirement age for commercial pilots was raised to 65.

Question 20

What Supreme Court case ruled that discrimination charges must be filed within 180 days of the allegedly discriminatory pay decision?

Accepted Answer

A) In the 2007 Supreme Court case of Ledbetter v Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Inc., the Court said that discrimination charges must be filed within 180 days after the allegedly discriminatory pay decision. Lilly Ledbetter had worked for Goodyear for many years but she did not realize until she was close to retirement that she was being discriminated against because of pay. Since she did not file a discrimination charge within 180 day of her employment, the Supreme Court ruled against her.

Quiz 3: Workforce Diversity, Equal Employment Opportunity, and Affirmative Action