Chapter 42

On July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage increased from $6.55 to ______.

$7.25

Penalties for OSHA violations may range from $0 to ______ per violation, depending on the likelihood that the violation would lead to serious injury to an employee.

$70,000

During the post-World War II period, what fraction of the United State workers were organized into labor unions?

1/3

Employers with how many employees are required under OSHA to keep records of workplace injuries?

11 or more

How long do the benefits of COBRA last for the employee?

18 months (or 29 months if disabled)

In what year did the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) go into effect?

1993

To exercise rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), an employee whose need is foreseeable (such as for childbirth) must advise the employer at least ______ days before the leave needs to begin.

30

How soon after an injury is a worker usually required to notify an employer and file a claim with the workers' compensation board?

30 to 60 days after the injury

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) mandates that employees who work more than ______ hours in a week be paid no less than one and one half times their regular wage for all the hours they work beyond these hours during a given week.

40

The workers' compensation system employs what form of procedure for justice?

Administrative adjudication

Identify the conditions in which the benefits of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) do not arise. (Check all that apply.)

An employer decides to eliminate benefits for all current employees. An employee is fired for gross misconduct.

implied contract exception

An exception to the employment at-will doctrine which provides that an implied employment contract may arise from statements the employer makes in an employment handbook or materials advertising the position.

An employer can, from their statements or through their employment handbook, create what form of employment relationship?

An implied employment contract

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the United States ______ increases the minimum wage for employees to compensate for increases in cost of living.

Congress

What federal law protects employees' established pension plans?

ERISA

______ is a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension and health plans in the private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans.

ERISA

FUTA is a federal law instituting a system to provide for unemployment compensation. Who manages the unemployment system itself?

The states

True or False: Employers subject to the FLSA must pay their workers at least the federal minimum wage.

True (Employers in covered industries are required to pay at least the federal minimum wage)

In most states, private employers have what rights to drug test their employees?

Employers enjoy almost unfettered discretion to test their employees.

A(n) ______ is a refusal to deal with, purchase goods from or work for a business.

boycott

What is the labor term for a refusal to purchase an employer's products in order to force the employer to change behavior in a labor dispute?

boycott

Bargaining in good faith means that a union must not strike

during the 60-day notice period.

A(n) ________ __________ occurs when employees have a labor dispute with their employer and boycott another company to force it to cease doing business with the employer.

secondary boycott

The Taft-Hartley Act limited the power of: _______.

trade unions

If an employer receives federal financial assistance or has federal contracts worth over ______, then the employer must develop an antidrug policy for employees.

$25,000

Employers who fail to comply with the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) may be required to pay up to 10 percent of the annual cost of the group plan or ______, whichever is less.

$500,000

If an employer fails to comply with COBRA, what penalties are available?

$500,000 or 10% of group plan, whichever is less

The employment relationship is a contractual relationship between what parties? (Check all that apply.)

The employer The employee

Under ______ laws, an employee is guaranteed the right to recover for injuries that occurred on the job without having to sue his or her employer.

workers' compensation

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Federal act requiring that employers provide all eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of leave during any 12-month period for several family-related occurrences (e.g., birth of a child, care of a sick spouse).

Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA)

Federal law passed in 1935 that created a state system to provide unemployment compensation to qualified employees who lose their jobs.

electronic communication privacy act of 1986 (ECPA)

Federal law that extended employees privacy rights to electronic for of communication including email and cell phones outlaws the intention interception of electronic communication and the intentional disclosure or use of the info obtained through such interception

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

Federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans.

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)

Federal law which ensures that when employees lose their job or have their hours reduced to a level at which they would not be eligible to receive, medical, dental, or optical from their employees, the employees will be able to continue receiving benefits under the employer's policy for up to 18 months by paying the premium policy

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Federal law which requires that a minimum wage of a specified amount be paid to all employees in covered industries; also mandates that employees who work more than 40 hours in a week be paid no less than 1½ times their regular wage for all hours beyond 40 worked in a given week.

Most state workers' compensation laws cover what kind of monetary damages? (Check all that apply.)

Hospital bills Medical bills Rehabilitation expenses

With OSHA violations, how can criminal penalties against an employer be imposed?

If a willful violation results in the death of a worker

______ picketing is designed to truthfully inform the public of a labor dispute.

Informational

The ______ requires certain financial disclosures by unions and establishes civil and criminal penalties for financial abuses by union officials.

Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959

The ______ interpret(s) and enforce(s) the National Labor Relations Act.

National Labor Relations Board

Which federal law mandates the amount of annual vacation time an employee must have?

No federal law

If an employee is injured while off duty taking a lunch at a restaurant, will they be able to make a compelling claim under the workers' compensation system?

No, because the injury did not occur on the job.

The United States mandates how much minimum annual vacation time for employees?

None

The federal government primarily regulates workplace safety through

OSHA

The ______ requires that employers create an employment environment that is free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)

Under the ______, employers cannot listen to or disclose the contents of private telephone conversations of employees.

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968

Under the ______, employers may ban an employee's personal calls and monitor for compliance, as long as they discontinue listening to any conversation once they determine it is personal.

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968

What is the term for when employees put themselves in front of the employer's business in order to inform the public of a labor dispute?

Picketing

Informational picketing

Picketing designed to truthfully inform the public of a labor dispute between an employer and the employees.

______ employers have almost unfettered discretion to drug test their employees.

Private

What are occurrences that would be covered under FMLA? (Check all that apply.)

Serious illness with a spouse, parent or child The birth of a child The adoption of a child

picketing prevents deliveries or services to the employer.

Signal

What is the term for a temporary concerted withdrawal of labor?

Strike

The ______ Act was designed to curtail the powers of trade unions that had been empowered by the Wagner Act.

Taft-Hartley

What federal legislative act requires a minimum wage be paid to employees in covered industries?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

What federal law governs the internal operations of labor unions and contains Labor's Bill of Rights?

The Landrum-Griffin Act

Who will supervise an election in a workplace to determine if workers can lawfully organize under the National Labor Relations Act?

The NLRB

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforces federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration to promote homeland security and public safety.

What federal law created the National Labor Relations Board?

The Wagner Act

Under the premises rule, if an individual is injured on company property while he or she is leaving from work, which of the following is true?

The court will generally find that the individual was on the job at the time of injury.

employment at will doctrine

The doctrine which provides that either the employer or the employee can terminate the employment relationship at any time.

Under the employment-at-will doctrine, which parties can terminate the employment agreement? (Check all that apply.)

The employee The employer

What is a negative aspect of the workers' compensation system for the employee?

The employee could gain a far larger monetary award suing in court than through the workers' compensation system.

What are the requirements for an individual to claim damages under the workers' compensation laws? (Check all that apply.)

The employer and employee are covered under the state workers' compensation system. He or she must be an employee. The injury occurred on the job.

If an employee is unable to return to work following a 12-week FMLA leave, what is the employer required to do with the employee's position?

The employer, after the 12-week FMLA leave period, is no longer required to hold open the position for the employee.

What exception to the employment-at-will doctrine makes an assumption that every employment contract contains an implicit understanding that the parties will deal with each other fairly?

The implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing

What are the remedies available under the FMLA? (Check all that apply.)

Unpaid salary or wages Denied compensation Lost benefits

What are some activities that are protected activities under the public policy exception to the employment-at-will doctrine? (Check all that apply.)

Whistle-blowing activities Serving out military duty Serving on jury duty

Employers are in the strongest legal position when they have a clear policy preventing

a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Botcott

a refusal to deal with purchase goods from, or work for a business.

If a claim is denied, more states provide an agency __________ process.

appeals

In the case of childbirth, an employee intending to take FMLA leave must notify the employer

at least 30 days prior to the birth.

The purpose of a(n) ______ is to prohibit a business from carrying on as normal and force it to accede to the demands of the _______.

boycott; labor union

In the context of the Wagner Act, the process whereby workers organize collectively and bargain with employers regarding the conditions of employment is called

collective bargaining

When using their employers' email system, employees ______.

do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy even during nonworking hours

Under the employment-at-will doctrine, an employment relationship can be terminated by ______, for any reason at any time.

either party

At a minimum, employer privacy policies should cover ______.

employee access to medical and personnel records

As a general rule, the accident leading to the injury being paid under the workers' compensation system must have taken place during the time and within the employees' scope of ______.

employment

Lee works for IntraCen Inc. The relationship between Lee and IntraCen Inc. is called a(n) ______ relationship.

employment

Employers must pay into the workers' compensation fund ______.

every year

The most common exception to the employment-at-will doctrine that provides that an implied employment contract may arise from statements the employer makes in an employment handbook, length of service, statements by the employer indicating long-term employment, or materials advertising the position is known as the _____________ - exception.

implied contract

The least common exception to at-will employment, permitted in eleven states, is the ______.

implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing exception

Bargaining collectively in good faith means that the parties must ______.

meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith

Employers in covered industries are required under the FLSA to pay a federal wage.

minimum

A(n) ______ is against the employer with whom the union is directly engaged in a labor dispute.

primary boycott

Whistle-blowing is a protected activity under the policy __________ exception to the employment-at-will doctrine.

public

Under FMLA, the plaintiff can recover all of the following EXCEPT: _________. (Choose ONE answer)

reimbursable expenses

FMLA requires an employer to ______ when the employee returns from their leave.

restore the employee to their position or a substantially similar position

Under the law, employers must prominently display either the federal or a state OSHA poster with information about employees' _____.

safety and health rights

__________ picketing prevents deliveries or services to the employer.

signal

A ______ is the most powerful weapon employees use to secure recognition and improve their working conditions, but it is also potentially the most dangerous.

strike

Picketing may occur as part of a(n) ______ or independently.

strike

Workers first achieved the right to organize during: _______.

the Great Depression

collective bargaining

the process whereby union and management representatives form a labor-management agreement, or contract, for workers

True or false: Employees do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy when using their employee's email system.

true; Employees should not expect to have privacy using an employer's email system.

The Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), passed in 1935, created a state system to provide to qualified employees who lose their jobs.

unemployment compensation

What federal law mandates that employers receiving federal funds must have an antidrug policy for employees?

Drug-Free Workplace Act

What federal law bans the interception of personal email by an employer in the workplace?

ECPA

Under the ______, employees' privacy rights were extended to electronic forms of communication including email and cellular phones.

Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986