BUS 410 ACTUAL STUDYS QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS SET A+
✔✔Works council - ✔✔A worker representative body, common in Germany, that
participates in decisions affecting employees, such as layoffs, plant closures, and M&A.
✔✔Two-tiered board system - ✔✔A corporate structure with a supervisory board that
includes employee representatives and a management board that handles day-to-day
operations.
✔✔Japanese approach to employee participation in strategic decisions - ✔✔Japanese
labor relations emphasize cooperation between labor and management, and union
leadership can serve as a path to management.
✔✔Chinese approach to employee participation in strategic decisions - ✔✔Independent
unions are generally not allowed; unions must operate through the government-
approved ACFTU, and the study guide notes there is no right to strike.
✔✔U.S. approach to dismissal - ✔✔U.S. law generally treats jobs as non-entitlements,
so employers have much more freedom to terminate employees than in many other
countries.
✔✔European approach to dismissal - ✔✔Many European countries treat jobs more like
property interests, with stronger dismissal protections and higher severance obligations.
✔✔Japanese approach to dismissal - ✔✔Japanese law may appear to allow dismissal,
but courts and social norms strongly discourage firing unless it is reasonable and
socially acceptable.
✔✔Kochi Hoso Broadcasting Co. case - ✔✔Background: A Japanese radio announcer
was fired after being late twice to news broadcasts, even though company rules listed
that as cause for dismissal. Decision: The Supreme Court of Japan ordered
reinstatement. Rule/Application: Even when an employee technically violates a
, discharge rule, firing can be invalid if it is significantly unreasonable or abusive under
socially accepted views.
✔✔Assumption of employment arrangements in M&A - ✔✔In many European countries,
a buyer that acquires a business also inherits existing labor arrangements, including
collective bargaining agreements.
✔✔Employment discrimination law outside the U.S. - ✔✔The U.S. has more developed
employment discrimination protections than many countries, while EU and other
systems are more limited but expanding.
✔✔EU antidiscrimination law - ✔✔The EU has adopted protections against
discrimination based on race, ethnic origin, religion, belief, disability, age, sexual
orientation, sex, and national origin.
✔✔Extraterritoriality in U.S. employment discrimination law - ✔✔Extraterritoriality asks
when U.S. employment discrimination laws apply to employment decisions made
outside the United States.
✔✔EEOC v. Arabian American Oil Co. - ✔✔Background: A U.S. citizen hired in Houston
was transferred to Saudi Arabia and sued under Title VII after being discharged.
Decision: The Supreme Court held Title VII did not apply abroad because Congress had
not clearly stated that it should. Rule/Application: U.S. statutes are presumed not to
apply extraterritorially unless Congress clearly says so; Congress later amended Title
VII so some protections apply to U.S. citizens working abroad for U.S.-controlled
employers.
✔✔Post-Aramco Title VII rule - ✔✔After Congress amended Title VII, U.S. employers
and U.S.-controlled foreign companies can be liable for discrimination against U.S.
citizens working abroad, unless foreign law conflicts.
✔✔Title VII and ADEA for noncitizens abroad - ✔✔Title VII and the ADEA do not apply
to noncitizens employed outside the United States.
✔✔Noncitizens functionally working in the U.S. - ✔✔A noncitizen physically outside the
U.S. may still be covered by U.S. employment law if the work relationship is functionally
centered in the United States.
✔✔U.S. employment laws that do not apply abroad - ✔✔Some U.S. laws have no
extraterritorial application, including NLRA, ERISA, OSHA, FMLA, and 42 U.S.C. §
1981.
✔✔Three defenses to U.S. employment law abroad - ✔✔The employer can argue the
decision was made by a foreign person not controlled by a U.S. employer, that U.S. law
conflicts with foreign law, or that a BFOQ applies.
ANSWERS SET A+
✔✔Works council - ✔✔A worker representative body, common in Germany, that
participates in decisions affecting employees, such as layoffs, plant closures, and M&A.
✔✔Two-tiered board system - ✔✔A corporate structure with a supervisory board that
includes employee representatives and a management board that handles day-to-day
operations.
✔✔Japanese approach to employee participation in strategic decisions - ✔✔Japanese
labor relations emphasize cooperation between labor and management, and union
leadership can serve as a path to management.
✔✔Chinese approach to employee participation in strategic decisions - ✔✔Independent
unions are generally not allowed; unions must operate through the government-
approved ACFTU, and the study guide notes there is no right to strike.
✔✔U.S. approach to dismissal - ✔✔U.S. law generally treats jobs as non-entitlements,
so employers have much more freedom to terminate employees than in many other
countries.
✔✔European approach to dismissal - ✔✔Many European countries treat jobs more like
property interests, with stronger dismissal protections and higher severance obligations.
✔✔Japanese approach to dismissal - ✔✔Japanese law may appear to allow dismissal,
but courts and social norms strongly discourage firing unless it is reasonable and
socially acceptable.
✔✔Kochi Hoso Broadcasting Co. case - ✔✔Background: A Japanese radio announcer
was fired after being late twice to news broadcasts, even though company rules listed
that as cause for dismissal. Decision: The Supreme Court of Japan ordered
reinstatement. Rule/Application: Even when an employee technically violates a
, discharge rule, firing can be invalid if it is significantly unreasonable or abusive under
socially accepted views.
✔✔Assumption of employment arrangements in M&A - ✔✔In many European countries,
a buyer that acquires a business also inherits existing labor arrangements, including
collective bargaining agreements.
✔✔Employment discrimination law outside the U.S. - ✔✔The U.S. has more developed
employment discrimination protections than many countries, while EU and other
systems are more limited but expanding.
✔✔EU antidiscrimination law - ✔✔The EU has adopted protections against
discrimination based on race, ethnic origin, religion, belief, disability, age, sexual
orientation, sex, and national origin.
✔✔Extraterritoriality in U.S. employment discrimination law - ✔✔Extraterritoriality asks
when U.S. employment discrimination laws apply to employment decisions made
outside the United States.
✔✔EEOC v. Arabian American Oil Co. - ✔✔Background: A U.S. citizen hired in Houston
was transferred to Saudi Arabia and sued under Title VII after being discharged.
Decision: The Supreme Court held Title VII did not apply abroad because Congress had
not clearly stated that it should. Rule/Application: U.S. statutes are presumed not to
apply extraterritorially unless Congress clearly says so; Congress later amended Title
VII so some protections apply to U.S. citizens working abroad for U.S.-controlled
employers.
✔✔Post-Aramco Title VII rule - ✔✔After Congress amended Title VII, U.S. employers
and U.S.-controlled foreign companies can be liable for discrimination against U.S.
citizens working abroad, unless foreign law conflicts.
✔✔Title VII and ADEA for noncitizens abroad - ✔✔Title VII and the ADEA do not apply
to noncitizens employed outside the United States.
✔✔Noncitizens functionally working in the U.S. - ✔✔A noncitizen physically outside the
U.S. may still be covered by U.S. employment law if the work relationship is functionally
centered in the United States.
✔✔U.S. employment laws that do not apply abroad - ✔✔Some U.S. laws have no
extraterritorial application, including NLRA, ERISA, OSHA, FMLA, and 42 U.S.C. §
1981.
✔✔Three defenses to U.S. employment law abroad - ✔✔The employer can argue the
decision was made by a foreign person not controlled by a U.S. employer, that U.S. law
conflicts with foreign law, or that a BFOQ applies.
