WGU D352 Employment and Labor Law – 80+ Practice
Questions with Answers and Rationales
EXAM OVERVIEW
The WGU D352 Employment and Labor Law Objective Assessment tests
knowledge of federal and state employment laws, discrimination prevention,
wage and hour regulations, labor relations, and employee rights. Key legislation
covered includes Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act (ADEA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Pregnancy
Discrimination Act, the Equal Pay Act, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA),
the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and the Worker Adjustment and
Retraining Notification (WARN) Act .
,SECTION 1: EMPLOYMENT AT-WILL & EXCEPTIONS
Questions 1-30
Q1. Under the employment-at-will doctrine, an employer may terminate an
employee for any reason EXCEPT:
A) The employee wore a blue shirt on a casual Friday
B) The employee refused to lie to a government investigator
C) The employee was five minutes late to work three times
D) The employer lost a major client and needs to reduce staff
Answer: B) The employee refused to lie to a government investigator
Rationale: The public policy exception to employment-at-will prohibits firing an
employee for refusing to perform an illegal act or for reporting illegal activities.
This is a recognized exception that protects employees from retaliation for
exercising legal rights or fulfilling statutory duties .
Q2. An employer fires an employee for refusing to lie to a government inspector
about the company's safety practices. This is a violation of which exception to
the employment-at-will doctrine?
A) Implied Contract Exception
B) Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Exception
C) Public Policy Exception
D) Economic Realities Exception
Answer: C) Public Policy Exception
Rationale: The public policy exception prohibits terminating an employee for
reasons that violate a public-policy interest, including refusing to break the law,
exercising a legal right, fulfilling a statutory duty, or engaging in whistleblowing .
Q3. Which term indicates that an employer may terminate an employee at any
time, for any legal reason, without incurring liability?
,A) Respondeat superior
B) Employment-at-will
C) Implied contract
D) Constructive discharge
Answer: B) Employment-at-will
Rationale: The employment-at-will doctrine is the predominant rule governing
employer-employee relationships, allowing either party to terminate the
relationship at any time for any legal reason without incurring liability .
Q4. Which type of employment contract is created by the actions of the
employer and employee rather than through formal contract negotiation?
A) Express contract
B) Unconscionable contract
C) Implied contract
D) Bilateral contract
Answer: C) Implied contract
Rationale: An implied contract is a legally binding agreement created, not
through formal contract negotiation and documentation, but by the actions of the
employer and the employee. The conduct creating the implied contract may be
oral assurances from the employer that as long as an employee does good work
he or she will have a job .
Q5. The employee handbook used by a temporary employment agency stated,
"Employees may not be terminated after first receiving an oral warning, then a
formal written warning." Which principle is demonstrated in the handbook?
A) Employment-at-will
B) Implied contract
C) Respondeat superior
D) Affirmative action
Answer: B) Implied contract
, Rationale: Progressive discipline procedures outlined in an employee handbook
can create an implied contract. When an employer's handbook includes specific
disciplinary procedures, employees may reasonably expect those procedures to
be followed, creating an implied promise of continued employment .
Q6. No employee with a company has ever been terminated without strict
adherence to the progressive discipline procedures outlined in the employee
handbook. How does the employee handbook apply in this situation?
A) It is an express contract for employees
B) It is an implied contract for employees
C) It is a unilateral contract
D) It has no legal effect
Answer: B) It is an implied contract for employees
Rationale: When an employer consistently follows the progressive discipline
procedures outlined in the employee handbook, it can create an implied contract.
Employees may rely on these established practices, and the employer may be
bound by them .
Q7. The implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing holds that:
A) Employers may terminate employees for any reason
B) Each party to the employment relationship makes an implied promise to treat
each other in good faith and fairness
C) Employees must always act in the employer's best interest
D) Employers must provide severance pay to all terminated employees
Answer: B) Each party to the employment relationship makes an implied
promise to treat each other in good faith and fairness
Rationale: The implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing presumes that
each party in a contract will deal with each other in good faith and fairness. When
that covenant is broken, the employee may have a cause of action for wrongful
termination .
Questions with Answers and Rationales
EXAM OVERVIEW
The WGU D352 Employment and Labor Law Objective Assessment tests
knowledge of federal and state employment laws, discrimination prevention,
wage and hour regulations, labor relations, and employee rights. Key legislation
covered includes Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act (ADEA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Pregnancy
Discrimination Act, the Equal Pay Act, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA),
the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and the Worker Adjustment and
Retraining Notification (WARN) Act .
,SECTION 1: EMPLOYMENT AT-WILL & EXCEPTIONS
Questions 1-30
Q1. Under the employment-at-will doctrine, an employer may terminate an
employee for any reason EXCEPT:
A) The employee wore a blue shirt on a casual Friday
B) The employee refused to lie to a government investigator
C) The employee was five minutes late to work three times
D) The employer lost a major client and needs to reduce staff
Answer: B) The employee refused to lie to a government investigator
Rationale: The public policy exception to employment-at-will prohibits firing an
employee for refusing to perform an illegal act or for reporting illegal activities.
This is a recognized exception that protects employees from retaliation for
exercising legal rights or fulfilling statutory duties .
Q2. An employer fires an employee for refusing to lie to a government inspector
about the company's safety practices. This is a violation of which exception to
the employment-at-will doctrine?
A) Implied Contract Exception
B) Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Exception
C) Public Policy Exception
D) Economic Realities Exception
Answer: C) Public Policy Exception
Rationale: The public policy exception prohibits terminating an employee for
reasons that violate a public-policy interest, including refusing to break the law,
exercising a legal right, fulfilling a statutory duty, or engaging in whistleblowing .
Q3. Which term indicates that an employer may terminate an employee at any
time, for any legal reason, without incurring liability?
,A) Respondeat superior
B) Employment-at-will
C) Implied contract
D) Constructive discharge
Answer: B) Employment-at-will
Rationale: The employment-at-will doctrine is the predominant rule governing
employer-employee relationships, allowing either party to terminate the
relationship at any time for any legal reason without incurring liability .
Q4. Which type of employment contract is created by the actions of the
employer and employee rather than through formal contract negotiation?
A) Express contract
B) Unconscionable contract
C) Implied contract
D) Bilateral contract
Answer: C) Implied contract
Rationale: An implied contract is a legally binding agreement created, not
through formal contract negotiation and documentation, but by the actions of the
employer and the employee. The conduct creating the implied contract may be
oral assurances from the employer that as long as an employee does good work
he or she will have a job .
Q5. The employee handbook used by a temporary employment agency stated,
"Employees may not be terminated after first receiving an oral warning, then a
formal written warning." Which principle is demonstrated in the handbook?
A) Employment-at-will
B) Implied contract
C) Respondeat superior
D) Affirmative action
Answer: B) Implied contract
, Rationale: Progressive discipline procedures outlined in an employee handbook
can create an implied contract. When an employer's handbook includes specific
disciplinary procedures, employees may reasonably expect those procedures to
be followed, creating an implied promise of continued employment .
Q6. No employee with a company has ever been terminated without strict
adherence to the progressive discipline procedures outlined in the employee
handbook. How does the employee handbook apply in this situation?
A) It is an express contract for employees
B) It is an implied contract for employees
C) It is a unilateral contract
D) It has no legal effect
Answer: B) It is an implied contract for employees
Rationale: When an employer consistently follows the progressive discipline
procedures outlined in the employee handbook, it can create an implied contract.
Employees may rely on these established practices, and the employer may be
bound by them .
Q7. The implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing holds that:
A) Employers may terminate employees for any reason
B) Each party to the employment relationship makes an implied promise to treat
each other in good faith and fairness
C) Employees must always act in the employer's best interest
D) Employers must provide severance pay to all terminated employees
Answer: B) Each party to the employment relationship makes an implied
promise to treat each other in good faith and fairness
Rationale: The implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing presumes that
each party in a contract will deal with each other in good faith and fairness. When
that covenant is broken, the employee may have a cause of action for wrongful
termination .
