Business Law Chapter 34
Typically, the first step in organizing a union at a particular firm is to ...
have the workers sign authorization cards.The employer is not required to recognize the union at this point in the process, but it may do so voluntarily on a showing of majority support.
The Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA or Taft
Hartley Act) of 1947 was passed to prohibit ....-certain unfair union practices. For instance, the act outlawed the closed shop. The act preserved the legality of the union shop, however.
Norris LaGuardia Act
The statute restricted the power of federal courts to issue injunctions against unions engaged in peaceful strikes. In effect, this act declared a national policy permitting employees to organize.
State workers' compensation laws establish an ...
administrative procedure for compensating workers injured on the job. Instead of suing, an injured worker files a claim with the state agency or board that administers local workers' compensation claims.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
allows employees to take time off work for family or medical reasons or in certain situations that arise from military service.
When the IRCA was enacted in 1986, it provided ...
amnesty to certain groups of aliens living illegally in the United States at the time. It also established a system that sanctions employers that hire immigrants who lack work authorization.
Under the Affordable Care Act, high ncome earners are subject to ...
an additional Medicare tax of 3.8 percent on most investment income.
If the employer refuses to voluntarily recognize the union—or if less than a majority of the workers sign authorization cards—the union organizers can petition for...
an election. The organizers present the authorization cards to the NLRB with a petition to hold an election on unionization.
To be protected under the NLRA, an individual must be ....
an employee or a job applicant. Additionally, individuals who are hired by a union to organize a company (union organizers) are to be considered employees of the company for NLRA purposes
Under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA///
both employers and employees contribute to Social Security and Medicare, although the contributions are determined differently.
Under the OSHA, an employer cannot discharge an employee who ...
files a complaint or who, in good faith, refuses to work in a high-risk area if bodily harm or death might result.
Electronic Communications Privacy Act prohibits employers from ...
intercepting an employee's personal electronic communications unless they are made on devices and systems furnished by the employer.
Collective bargaining is the process by which...
labor and management negotiate the terms and conditions of employment. Collective bargaining allows the representatives elected by union members to speak on behalf of the members at the bargaining table.
Right to work laws
laws making it illegal for union membership to be required for continued employment in any establishment.
In a strike, the unionized employees...
leave their jobs and refuse to work.
The LMRA also prohibited unions from...
refusing to bargain with employers, engaging in certain types of picketing, and featherbedding (causing employers to hire more employees than necessary). In addition, the act allowed individual states to pass right-to-work laws
An important exceptionof the FMLA allows the employer to avoid ...
reinstating a key employee—defined as an employee whose pay falls within the top 10 percent of the firm's workforce.
The Davis Bacon Act
requires contractors and subcontractors working on federal government construction projects to pay "prevailing wages" to their employees.
Factors considered in determining whether there is a mutuality of interest include ...
the similarity of the jobs of the workers to be unionized and their physical location.
When an employee takes FMLA leave, the employer must continue....
the worker's health-care coverage on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work.
On returning from FMLA leave, most employees must be restored to....
their original position or to a comparable position (with nearly equivalent pay and benefits, for instance).
The LMRDA strictly regulates ...
unions' internal business procedures, including elections.
Vesting
The creation of an absolute or unconditional right or power. gives an employee a legal right to receive pension benefits when she or he stops working.
LIGER v. NEW ORLEANS HORNETS NBAm LTD. PARTNERSHIP
Facts: Plaintiffs are former employees of the Hornets and are seeking compensation for allegedly unpaid overtime. Issue: Do the hornets operate for more than eight months out of the year to be included under the FSLA under which for employee qualified for overtime compensation? Rule:The FLSA exempts "amusement or recreational establishments that operate for fewer than eight months per year from its requirements." Analysis:: the Hornets operate for at least eight months each year. Found that a major league baseball team was a year-round operation, despite the fact that they did not provide"amusement and recreation" year-round. Additionally, the court opined that "the fact that the Reds employ 120 year-round workers compels the conclusion that they `operate' year round. In addition, the NBA regular season typically begins in October and ends in April; in combination with pre-season and post-season games, the Hornets have the opportunity to participate in games for nine months each year. Finally, the NBA draft occurs each June; thus, theHornets operate in the summer even when they do not make the playoffs. The Court's findings of year-round activity did not consider the possibility of off-seasonworkouts or training camps, off-season charity work, or off-season marketing and ticket sales. Conclusion- ORDERED that the Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED
The Affordable Care Act
(commonly referred to as Obamacare) requires most employers with fifty or more full-time employees to offer health-insurance benefits.
In general, the only requirements to recover benefits under state workers' compensation laws are:
1.The existence of an employment relationship. 2.An accidental injury that occurred on the job or in the course of employment, regardless of fault. (An injury that occurs while an employee is commuting to or from work usually is not covered because it did not occur on the job or in the course of employment.)
Due to economic conditions, Federal Express lays off Newman. Workers who do not have a right to continue group health benefits provided by Fed Ex for a limited time after the loss of their jobs include those who: A. are fired for gross misconduct. B. are laid off for budgetary reasons. C. have their hours decreased from full time to part time. D. quit their jobs voluntarily.
A
George is an employee of Pendant Publishing. Generally speaking, either party can terminate the employment relationship at any time for any reason without liability. With respect to the employment at will doctrine, this is a.an example of the doctrine. B.an exception based on contract theory. C. an exception based on public policy. D.an exception based on tort theory.
A
T/F:Cosmo Kramer, President and CEO of Kramerica Industries, wants to subject Darin the intern to a lie detector test. Generally speaking, however, employers may not require job applicants or employees to take such tests.
A
authorization card
A card signed by an employee that gives a union permission to act on his or her behalf in negotiations with management.
employment at will
A common law doctrine under which either party may terminate an employment relationship at any time for any reason, unless the contract specifies otherwise.
closed shop
A firm that requires union membership on the part of its workers as a condition of employment.
Elaine Benes wants to pursue her dream of becoming a professional dancer and so she joins the Radio City Music Hall (RCMH) Rockettes. Under federal labor law, Elaine and the other Rockettes have the right to_____ a. bargain collectively with RCMH through their representatives. _____ b. insist that RCMH require union membership as a condition of work. _____ c. interfere with the efforts of others to form labor organizations. ____ d. refuse to bargain with RCMH through their representatives.
A?
Hot cargo agreements
An illegal agreement in which employers voluntarily agree with unions not to handle, use, or deal in the non-union-produced goods of other employers.
George is an employee of Pendant Publishing. Pendant's employee manual states that workers, such as George, will be dismissed only for good cause. If Pendant terminates George's employment without good cause and George sues, George's lawyer will probably point to the manual as a.an example of the employment at will doctrine. b.an exception to the employment at will doctrine based on contract theory. c.an exception to the employment at will doctrine based on public policy. D. an exception to the employment at will doctrine based on tort theory.
B
After successfully suing Vandelay Industries for fraud and getting reinstated, George reports to state officials that Vandelay is illegally shipping unsafe goods to unsuspecting customers. When Vandelay learns of George's report, Vandelay fires him. He successfully sues Vandelay for wrongful discharge. With respect to the employment at will doctrine, this is a. an example of the doctrine. B. an exception based on contract theory. c.exception based on public policy. D. an exception based on tort theory.
C
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)..
This act established the rights of employees to engage in collective bargaining and to strike.
T/F: Cosmo Kramer, President and CEO of Kramerica Industries, hires Darin the intern as Kramerica's second employee. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), employers like Kramerica are required to establish retirement plans for their employees.
F
T/F: During collective bargaining, the employer and the union are obligated to reach an agreement._
F
T/F: Under the employment at will doctrine, an employment relationship may be terminated at any time and for any reason by an employee but not by an employer.
F
T/F:Employers that have fifty or more employees must provide certain employees with up to twelve weeks of paid family or medical leave during any twelve month period.
F
T/F:Supervisors can also be held personally liable, as employers, for violations of the act.
F
T/f: Having been compensated under state workers' compensation laws because his injury was accidental and occurred on the job or in the course of employment, Newman now schemes to sue Fed Ex for negligence. Newman will be successful.
F
To comply with IRCA requirements, an employer must perform...
I-9 verifications for new hires, Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, which is available from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, must be completed within...- three days of a worker's commencement of employment.
After getting fired from Pendant Publishing and terminated for a second time by Vandelay Industries, George Costanza dreams of getting a job with the New York Yankees. For George to obtain the benefits of federal wage hour requirements as a Yankees employee, the Yankees must be engaged in: a. business activity. b.employment at will. c.international commerce. d.interstate commerce.
D
George Costanza gets a position as the assistant to the traveling secretary of the New York Yankees. Shortly thereafter, Yankees' President George Steinbrenner fires General Manager Brian Cashman and promotes George Costanza into the GM position! Naturally, George Costanza's main concern is to know the maximum number of hours that the Yankees can force him to work per week without paying him overtime. Is it : a. thirty nine? b.forty? c.forty one? D. unlimited?
D
Vandelay Industries offers George a job, representing falsely that it will be long term. In reliance, George takes the job but is laid off shortly thereafter and successfully sues Vandelay for fraud. With respect to the employment at will doctrine, this is: a. an example of the doctrine. b. an exception based on contract theory. c,.an exception based on public policy. D. an exception based on tort theory.
D
While driving a Fed Ex truck, Newman suffers an injury. He will be compensated under state workers' compensation laws only if: A. he does not have health insurance. B.he is completely disabled. C.he successfully sues Fed Ex. D. his injury was accidental and occurred on the job or in the course of employment.
D
ERISA does not require an employer to establish a pension plan. When a plan exists, however, ...
ERISA provides standards for its management
The major federal statute that regulates employee retirement plans is the ...
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
The Labor
Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA)- established an employee bill of rights and reporting requirements for union activities.
Whenever a work related injury or disease occurs, employers must make reports directly to
OSHA.
At the federal level, the primary legislation protecting employees' health and safety is the...
Occupational Safety and Health Act
An employer that violates the WARN Act can be fined up to...
$500 for each day of the violation.
H 1B Visa Program
Sponsoring employer may obtain a visa for a person to work in the United States for three to six years in a "specialty occupation" that requires highly specialized knowledge and a college degree
T/F:After the Yankees reinstate George, management is distrustful - "that Constanza is a slacker!" declares George Steinbrenner :and so the Yankees begin to monitor his activities. Generally, an employer's monitoring of electronic communications in the workplace does not violate employees' privacy rights (e.g., because the employer has notified the employee, the communications system is employer provided).
T
T/F:Generally speaking, a large business must provide notice before implementing a mass layoff.
T
T/F: Generally speaking, under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), an employee's right to employer contributions under a pension plan vests within five years of the commencement of employment.
T?
Answer in writing Homework Question #1:George signs a contract to serve as the Assistant to the Traveling Secretary of the New York Yankees for one year, from July 1 to June 30. The contract states in bold type that the employment is "at will." The contract also states that it will renew automatically unless the Yankees act by April 15. On May 1 the Yankees terminate the agreement. Questions abound, including:Is George an at will employee? May the Yankees terminate the agreement?
Yes because the contract in which George was an at will iemployee the first year was renewed, not amended, making him an at will employee the second time around too. - Yes, George is still considered an at will employee as explicitly stated in his contract.
After marrying his fiancé Susan Biddle Ross, George Costanza takes temporary leave from his job at the Yankees to care for their newborn baby. With respect to George's health care coverage, during the leave, under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Yankees must a.continue it. b.suspend it. c.terminate it. d..add the baby to it.
a
When violations are found, the NLRB may issue....
a cease-and-desist order compelling the employer to stop engaging in the unfair practices.
Cease and desist orders can be enforced by...
a federal appellate court if necessary.
Medicare is ...
a federal government health-insurance program administered by the Social Security Administration for people sixty-five years of age and older and for some under age sixty-five who are disabled.
The most common exception to the employment at will doctrine is made on the basis that the employer's reason for firing the employee violates ...
a fundamental public policy of the jurisdiction.
A mass layoff is ...
a layoff of at least one-third of the full-time employees at a particular job site.
The WARN Act is intended to give workers....
advance notice so that they can start looking for new jobs while they are still employed.
ERISA created the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), which is....
an independent federal agency, to provide timely and uninterrupted payment of voluntary private pension benefits.
For an election to be held, they must demonstrate that...
at least 30 percent of the workers to be represented support a union or an election.
WARN an employer violates WARN, Employees can recover ...
back pay for each day of the violation (up to sixty days), plus reasonable attorneys' fees.
To be eligible for unemployment compensation, a worker must ...
be willing and able to work. Workers who have been fired for misconduct or who have voluntarily left their jobs are not eligible for benefits.
George Costanza takes temporary leave from his job at the Yankees to care for his father, Frank, who is injured while testing a manssiere. When George attempts to return to work, the Yankees refuse to reinstate him. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, depending on the facts of his or her case, a plaintiff potentially may be entitled to a.job reinstatement only. b.job reinstatement and damages only. c.damages, job reinstatement, and a promotion.
c
WARN ACT is also intended to alert state agencies so that they....
can provide training and other resources for displaced workers.
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) enables employees to ...
continue, for a limited time, their health-care coverage after they are no longer eligible for group health-insurance plans. The workers—not the employers—pay the premiums for the continued coverage.
A successful plaintiff is also entitled to...
court costs and attorneys' fees.
A union shop
does not require union membership as a prerequisite for employment but can, and usually does, require that workers join the union after a specified time on the job.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
extended wage-hour requirements to cover all employers engaged in interstate commerce or in producing goods for interstate commerce. Certain other types of businesses were included as well. The FLSA, as amended, provides the most comprehensive federal regulation of wages and hours today.
Under the common law, employees who were injured on the job had to...
file lawsuits against their employers to obtain recovery.
Employers with eleven or more employees are required to ...
keep occupational injury and illness records for each employee.
The Social Security Act provides for
old-age (retirement), survivors', and disability insurance. The social security act is therefore often referred to as -OASDI.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires these employers to provide ....
sixty days' notice before implementing a mass layoff or closing a plant that employs more than fifty full-time workers.
whistleblowing
that is, telling government authorities, upper-level managers, or the media that the employer is engaged in some unsafe or illegal activity.
Employers thus must provide advance notice of the layoff both to ....
the affected workers and to state and local government authorities.
Lockouts usually are used when....
the employer believes that a strike is imminent or the parties have reached a stalemate in collective bargaining.
A lockout occurs when...
the employer shuts down to prevent employees from working.
For military caregiver leave, the employee may take up to...
twenty-six weeks of leave within a twelve-month period.
The NLRA created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to oversee ....
union elections and to prevent employers from engaging in unfair and illegal union activities and unfair labor practices.
An employer may not use a lockout as a tool to break the union and pressure employees into decertification, which occurs when
union members vote to dissociate from the union. An employer must be able to show some economic justification for the lockout.
The FLSA provides that a minimum wage of...
$7.25 per hour must be paid to covered nonexempt employees.
An employer that violates the FMLA can be required to provide various remedies, including the following:
1. Damages to compensate the employee for lost wages and benefits, denied compensation, and actual monetary losses (such as the cost of providing care for a family member). Compensatory damages are available up to an amount equivalent to the employee's wages for twelve weeks. 2.Job reinstatement. 3. Promotion, if a promotion has been denied.
The NLRA specifically defined a number of employer practices as unfair to labor:
1. Interference with the efforts of employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations or to engage in concerted activities for their mutual aid or protection. 2.An employer's domination of a labor organization or contribution of financial or other support to it. 3.Discrimination in the hiring of or the awarding of tenure to employees for reason of union affiliation. 4.Discrimination against employees for filing charges under the act or giving testimony under the act. 5. Refusal to bargain collectively with the duly designated representative of the employees.
An eligible employee may take up to twelve weeks of leave within a twelve month period for any of the following reasons:
1. To care for a newborn baby within one year of birth. 2. To care for an adopted or foster child within one year of the time the child is placed with the employee. 3. To care for the employee's spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition. 4. If the employee suffers from a serious health condition and is unable to perform the essential functions of her or his job. 5. For any qualifying exigency (nonmedical emergency) arising out of the fact that the employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on active duty.Footnote For instance, an employee can take leave to arrange for child care or to deal with financial or legal matters when a spouse is being deployed overseas
In the following situations, the conduct of the strikers may cause the strikes to be illegal:
1.Violent strikes. The use of violence (including the threat of violence) against management employees or substitute workers is illegal. 2.Massed picketing. If the strikers form a barrier and deny management or other nonunion workers access to the plant, the strike is illegal. 3.Sit-down strikes. Strikes in which employees simply stay in the plant without working are illegal. 4. No-strike clause. A strike may be illegal if it contravenes a no-strike clause that was in the previous collective bargaining agreement between the employer and the union. 5. Secondary boycotts. A secondary boycott is an illegal strike that is directed against someone other than the strikers' employer, such as companies that sell materials to the employer. 6.Wildcat strikes. A wildcat strike occurs when a small number of workers, perhaps dissatisfied with a union's representation, call their own strike. The union is the exclusive bargaining representative of a group of workers, and only the union can call a strike. Therefore, a wildcat strike, unauthorized by the certified union, is illegal.
In addition, the government protects employees' income through ...
Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and the regulation of pensions and health insurance plans.
Occupational Safety and Health Act
The act imposes on employers a general duty to keep the workplace safe.
If an employee dies or three or more employees are hospitalized because of a work related incident, the employer must notify the OSHA within ...
eight hours.
COBRA prohibits an employer from ...
eliminating a worker's medical, vision, or dental insurance when the worker's employment is terminated or when a reduction in the worker's hours would affect coverage.
For Social Security, the basis for the contributions is the ...
employee's annual wage base—the maximum amount of the employee's wages that is subject to the tax.
Generally, the key consideration in determining whether an employment manual creates an implied contractual obligation is the...
employee's reasonable expectations.
The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require that an employer offer its employees personal breaks. If an employer does offer them, though...
employees must be compensated during those breaks.
The NLRB has the authority to investigate ...
employees' charges of unfair labor practices and to file complaints against employers in response to these charges.
Employee Polygraph Protection Act generally prohibits...
employers from requiring employees or job applicants to take lie detector tests or suggesting or requesting that they do so.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act applies to .....
employers with at least one hundred full-time employees.
ERISA
empowers a branch of the U.S. Department of Labor to enforce its provisions governing employers that have private pension funds for their employees.
The central legal right of a union is to ...
engage in collective bargaining on the members' behalf.
Certain employees are exempt from the FLSA's overtime provisions. These employees generally include ...
executive, administrative, and professional employees, as well as outside salespersons and those who create computer code.
When an employee receives tips while on the job, the FLSA gives employers a tip credit toward the minimum wage amount. The employer is required to pay
only $2.13 an hour in direct wages—if that amount, plus the tips received, equals at least the federal minimum wage.
Under the FLSA, any employee who works more than forty hours per week must be ..
paid no less than 1.5 times her or his regular pay for all hours worked over forty
The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires that employers...
post certain notices in the workplace, maintain specific records, and submit reports.
Even companies that anticipate filing for bankruptcy normally must ...
provide notice under the WARN Act.
The FMLA requires employers that have fifty or more employees to ...
provide unpaid leave for specified reasons.
ICE has a general inspection program that conducts...
random compliance audits.
In addition, if the plaintiff of FMLA case shows that the employer acted in bad faith, the plaintiff can...
receive two times the amount of damages awarded by a judge or jury.
Today, numerous state and federal statutes protect employees from....
the risk of accidental injury, death, or disease resulting from their employment.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
restricts the manner in which employers collect, use, and disclose the health information of employees and their families. Employers must designate privacy officials, distribute privacy notices, and train employees to ensure that employees' health information is not disclosed to unauthorized parties.
The Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) created a ....
state-administered system that provides unemployment compensation to eligible individuals who have lost their jobs.
If an employee accepts workers' compensation benefits, he or she may not...
sue for injuries caused by the employer's negligence.
The Walsh Healey Act applies to U.S. government contracts. It requires...
that a minimum wage, as well as overtime pay at 1.5 times regular pay rates, be paid to employees of manufacturers or suppliers entering into contracts with agencies of the federal government.
The right to strike is guaranteed by...
the NLRA, within limits.
OSHA compliance officers may enter and inspect the facilities of any establishment covered by ...=
the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
If the NLRB certifies the union, the union becomes...
the exclusive bargaining representative of the workers.
The public policy exception may apply to an employee discharged for...
whistleblowing
Employers generally are required to notify employees when an absence ...
will be counted against FMLA leave.
Whenever an employer discharges an employee in violation of an employment contract or a statutory law protecting employees, the employee may bring an action for ...
wrongful discharge.