Strategic Staffing, 2e (Phillips/Gully) Chapter The Legal Context 1) Complying with staffing laws enhances an organization's ability to appeal to a broader customer base Answer: TRUE 2) Someone who provides their services to a firm as part of an independent business is considered an employee of that firm Answer: FALSE 3) Employers are not liable for the acts of their employees during the time of their employment Answer: FALSE 4) Contingent workers are part of a company's core workforce Answer: FALSE 5) Any employee of a temporary agency working at another company's place of business is not entitled to receive benefits from the company Answer: TRUE 6) Seasonal employees are employees hired to work only during a particular part of the year Answer: TRUE 7) Seniority-based promotions make leadership competencies important hiring criteria even for lower-level positions Answer: TRUE 8) An independent contractor performs services and the employer controls or directs only the result of the work Answer: TRUE 9) Executive Order 11246 prohibits discrimination and establishes affirmative action to promote diversity Answer: TRUE 10) Facially neutral means that all employees and applicants are treated consistently, regardless of their protected characteristics, such as their sex and race Answer: TRUE 11) Affirmative action plans give preferential treatment to the qualified applicant on a permanent basis Answer: FALSE 12) Anyone who submits a resume or an employment application over the Internet is considered an applicant Answer: FALSE Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 13) In a mixed motive case of disparate treatment, the employer is accused of having both a legitimate and an illegitimate reason for making the employment decision Answer: TRUE 14) Disparate impact occurs when an action has a disproportionate effect on a protected group, regardless of intent Answer: TRUE 15) It is legal to compare an applicant's scores only to members of his or her own racial subgroup and set separate passing or cutoff scores for each subgroup Answer: FALSE 16) Which of the following is true for employment contracts? A) To be enforceable, an employment contract must be in writing B) An oral contract is implicit, while a written contract is explicit C) They give employees the upper hand in the employment relationship D) An implicit contract is not specified in a written or verbal contract Answer: D 17) Employment-at-will is an employment relationship which A) allows either the employee or employer to terminate the employment at any time B) offers blanket protection to employers for all employee discharges C) allows an employer to terminate employment only for a just cause D) offers employees a contract for a definite term of employment Answer: A 18) Which of the following are employees of a company who take on the operation of certain functions, or staff an entire office or factory on a contractual basis for a client or company? A) contingent workers B) at-will employees C) leased workers D) independent contractors Answer: C 19) Which of the following is true of a "closed shop"? A) Employers encourage unions to form B) Employees need not remain union members after they are hired C) No non-union workers are employed D) Employees must give up union membership once employed Answer: C 20) Which of the following was declared illegal by the Taft-Hartley Labor Act? A) open shop B) union shop C) agency shop D) closed shop Answer: D Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 21) Which of the following is a characteristic of independent contractors? A) They have a continuous relationship with the employer B) They not receive benefits from the employer C) They control the processes and results of their work D) They not pay their employment taxes, the employer does Answer: B 22) The WARN Act of 1988 applies to A) employers with up to 100 employees, not including part-time workers B) regular local, federal, and state government entities that provide public services C) private, public, and quasi-public entities which operate in a commercial context D) employers with employees who work less than 20 hours per week Answer: C 23) Department store BigTen refused to hire Max because of his religion The store is in violation of A) the WARN Act B) the USERRA of 1994 C) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 D) the VEVRAA Act of 1974 Answer: C 24) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects people A) 30 years of age or older B) 40 years of age or older C) 50 years of age or older D) 60 years of age or older Answer: B 25) The WARN Act relates to which of the following? A) recruiting B) selecting C) negotiating D) layoffs Answer: D 26) The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act A) ensures that members of the uniformed services can return to their civilian employment after their service ends B) ensures that veterans are equally represented in the workforce C) provides job training to members of the uniformed services to assist them in transitioning to civilian jobs D) requires that a job board be maintained for the sole use of veterans transitioning to civilian jobs after their service ends Answer: A Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 27) A BFOQ is a(n) A) requirement for establishing a case of discrimination B) exception to employment-at-will relationship C) characteristic that is essential to the performance of an employment function D) analysis of a firm's competitive advantage Answer: C 28) Affirmative action means A) proactive efforts to ensure nondiscriminatory results in employment practices B) employment practices are designed and used in a "facially neutral" manner C) employers must meet quotas to ensure employee diversity D) protection for employees against retaliatory discharge Answer: A 29) Which of the following is true for affirmative action plans? A) An affirmative action plan should not be remedial in nature B) An affirmative action plan should exclude all nonminorities C) An affirmative action plan should be temporary D) An affirmative action plan does not need to be formalized Answer: C 30) Mrs Peters filed a complaint against her employers for firing her She admitted to being late to work five days in a month but she claimed that she was fired on the grounds of being a female employee This is an example of A) fraudulent recruitment B) mixed motive case C) adverse impact D) negligent hiring Answer: B 31) A manager only hires Hispanic women as secretaries This is an example of A) disparate treatment B) disparate impact C) negligent hiring D) sexual harassment Answer: A 32) What is the best conclusion given the following information about research technicians employed in the scientific wing of a pharmaceutical organization? Females comprise 60 percent of the current workforce and 50 percent of the relevant population (research technicians) and males comprise 40 percent of the current workforce and 50 percent of the relevant population A) There is a disparate impact on males as research technicians B) There is a disparate impact on females as research technicians C) There is no evidence of disparate impact among research technicians D) There is evidence of disparate impact against both males and females as research technicians Answer: A Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 33) Comparing the percentage of men, women, or minorities employed in a job category with their availability in the relevant population of qualified people interested in the position is an example of a A) bona fide occupational qualification B) concentration statistic C) flow statistic D) stock statistic Answer: D 34) If 33 percent of Hispanics are hired, 42 percent of whites are hired, and 50 percent of blacks are hired, disparate impact has occurred against A) Hispanics B) whites C) Hispanics and whites D) None of the groups Answer: A 35) A hotel chain that is recruiting front desk receptionists receives 200 applications from males and 100 applications from females 100 out of 200 men are hired and 25 out of 100 women are hired Which of the following statements is true of the hotel chain's hiring policy? A) There is evidence of a disparate impact of the hiring process on males as a group B) There is evidence of a disparate impact of the hiring process on females as a group C) There is no evidence of any disparate impact D) There is evidence of disparate impact against both males and females Answer: B 36) Comparing the percentage of applicants hired from different subgroups to determine if they are significantly different from each other is an example of a A) BFOQ B) concentration statistic C) flow statistic D) stock statistic Answer: C 37) Comparing the percentages of men, women, or minorities in various job categories to see if men, women, or minorities are disproportionately represented in certain workforce categories is an example of a A) hiring yield statistic B) concentration statistic C) flow statistic D) stock statistic Answer: B Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 38) If a company makes promises to a recruit that it does not intend to keep, it could be found guilty of A) negligent hiring B) negligent referral C) fraudulent recruitment D) violating the WARN Act Answer: C 39) A company fails to a background check that would have revealed that a person it has hired has the potential to harm others The employee then physically harms a customer during a disagreement The company could be found guilty of A) negligent hiring B) negligent referral C) fraudulent recruitment D) violating the WARN Act Answer: A 40) When a competing hospital calls for an employee recommendation, a hospital manager fails to disclose negative information about a previous employee who was discharged for improper and reckless behavior toward a patient This could be an example of A) negligent hiring B) negligent referral C) fraudulent recruitment D) violating the WARN Act Answer: B 41) Dylan worked for Sun Pharmaceuticals as a scientific research assistant He quit the company and joined Kip Pharma Industries as a senior researcher Sources at Sun discovered that Dylan had sold some trade secrets belonging to the company to Kip Pharma In this situation, which of the following statements is true? A) Sun Pharmaceuticals can litigate against Dylan for trade secret violation B) Kip Pharma can sue Sun Pharmaceuticals for allowing Dylan to quit C) Dylan can sue Sun Pharmaceuticals for causing him financial loss D) Kip Pharma can sue Dylan for trade secret violation Answer: A 42) When Mary hires someone because they share the same interests, which of the following has occurred? A) stereotyping B) like-me bias C) prejudice D) hiring manager bias Answer: B Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 43) "All men are strong" is an example of which type of bias? A) like-me bias B) stereotyping C) prejudice D) ignorance Answer: B Diff: Page Ref: 75 Skill: Application Objective: AACSB: Analytic skills Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 44) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission imposed compensatory damages on Czar Microsystems Pvt Ltd for discriminating against an employee on the basis of their age Czar defended itself by claiming to be unaware of any such law This is a(n) defense A) erroneous B) stereotyping C) prejudice D) ignorance Answer: D 45) How is at-will employment best used by employers? Answer: At-will employment is an employment relationship in which either party can terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any legal reason, with no liability as long as there is no contract for a definite term of employment Although at-will employment allows an employee to quit for no reason, firms call upon it most often when they want to fire an employee at any time for any legal reason or for no reason at all In all states (except Montana), if a formal contract does not govern a company's employment relationships, these relationships are governed by the "employment-at-will" doctrine Although the courts have generally upheld the right to terminate at will, this does not mean that employers should casually terminate employees without giving a reason or without following normal policies and procedures Companies should follow their formal discipline and termination procedures whenever possible to help avoid discrimination and wrongful termination claims The at-will clause is best thought of as a legal defense to keep the organization from being forced to follow its own policies inflexibly For example, at-will employment allows an employer to quickly dismiss an employee who is behaving dangerously Case law establishing when or if firms can rely on the at-will nature of the relationship varies from state to state Diff: Page Ref: 50-51 Skill: Concept Objective: Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 46) Compare and contrast outsourcing to independent contracting from the perspective of a company that needs to fulfill an order within a short duration Which method is better if the company in question is using an innovation-based low-cost strategy? Answer: Independent contractors must make their own Social Security contributions, pay various employment taxes, and report their income to state and federal authorities From a legal perspective, whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor with respect to the company determines the obligations the company has to the worker If an employee is incorrectly classified as an independent contractor instead of an employee, the company can be liable for employment taxes for that worker, plus a penalty An alternative to contingent work is outsourcing the work to another firm This typically involves contracting with an outside firm that has particular expertise to assume complete responsibility for a specific contracted service not just to supply workers Firms often outsource their noncore functions, such as their payroll, landscaping, and food service activities Offshore outsourcing by opening a location in another country or outsourcing work to an existing company abroad has become increasingly popular for many organizations seeking productivity gains Companies can strategically use independent contractors to help control costs, temporarily increase capabilities, and bring in needed talents quickly They can thus be particularly useful for companies competing through innovation or low-cost strategies Independent contractors often receive a higher salary than regular employees but not receive benefits, which can make them cost-effective Diff: Page Ref: 53-54 Skill: Synthesis Objective: AACSB: Reflective thinking skills Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 47) What is affirmative action? What is an affirmative action plan? Answer: Affirmative action is the proactive effort to eliminate discrimination and its effects, and to ensure nondiscriminatory results in employment practices in the future Affirmative action began as a supplement to the Civil Rights Act's promise to end race discrimination in employment An affirmative action plan describes in detail the actions to be taken, procedures to be allowed, and standards to be adhered to, to establish an affirmative action program Affirmative action plans can include, but are not limited to, provisions for nondiscriminatory recruitment, training, and promotion Procedures for internal record keeping, auditing, and reporting are often included to ensure compliance and measure the program's success Affirmative action plans must apply to everyone, regardless of their age, gender, race, creed, physical ability, or national origin It assures that everyone has an equal opportunity to compete for all employment benefits and to participate in all employer-sponsored programs based on individual merit, which must be determined by criteria which are applied equally to everyone, and which not systematically favor one group over another Affirmative action programs may give preferential treatment to qualified applicants from underrepresented protected groups Numerical benchmarks are usually established based on the availability of qualified applicants in the job market or qualified candidates in the employer's workforce These numerical goals not create quotas for specific groups, nor are they designed to guarantee proportional representation or equal results A contractor's failure to attain its goals is not in and of itself considered to be a violation a failure to make good faith efforts to attain the goals is Diff: Page Ref: 62 Skill: Concept Objective: 48) What are quota staffing systems and how are they used? Answer: Quota staffing systems establish specific requirements that certain percentages of disadvantaged groups be hired to equalize their proportional representation in the company's workforce with their proportions in the job and organization's relevant labor market The size and location of an organization's relevant labor market depends on the nature of the job As an illustration, for faculty positions, the relevant labor market is usually defined as national For management and professional positions, the relevant labor market is generally defined as regional For staff and laborer positions, the relevant labor market is usually defined as local The law does not require quotas or even preferential treatment Employers are not required to have proportional representation in their workforce, but they are more open to lawsuits if they not Although affirmative action, preferential treatment, and quotas are not required by law, they are not prohibited either Quotas have been found to be illegal in a number of courts cases so there are limitations on their features and usage A quota is most often used as a court-imposed remedy for past discrimination or as part of a voluntary affirmative action plan Diff: Page Ref: 63 Skill: Concept Objective: 10 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall ... defended itself by claiming to be unaware of any such law This is a(n) defense A) erroneous B) stereotyping C) prejudice D) ignorance Answer: D 45) How is at-will employment best used by employers?... outsourcing by opening a location in another country or outsourcing work to an existing company abroad has become increasingly popular for many organizations seeking productivity gains Companies can strategically... goals is Diff: Page Ref: 62 Skill: Concept Objective: 48) What are quota staffing systems and how are they used? Answer: Quota staffing systems establish specific requirements that certain percentages