Employment Law - Midterm Exam
Ch.1
What are the 5 sources of employment law?>>> 1. Constitution
2. Statutes (Title VII)
3. Executive Orders
4. Regulations (regul. issued by OSHA)
5. Common Law
Ch.1
What is the "Employment at Will" Doctrine?
(substantive right under employment law)>>> a. An employee can quit at any time for any reason or no
reason at all.
b. An employer can fire an employee at any time for any reason or no reason at all, except for reasons
prohibited by law
c. If the parties' relationship is governed by a contract, the contract controls
Ch. 1
What are the FIVE substantive rights under employment law that are exceptions to the Employment at
Will Doctrine?>>> 1. Nondiscrimination & Equal Employment Opportunity (Title VII, ADEA, Equal Pay Act,
ADA)
2. Freedom to Engage in Concerted Activity and Collective Bargaining (NLRA, Railway Labor Act)
3. Terms and Conditions of Employment that Meet Minimum Standards (FLSA, FMLA, OSHA)
4. Protection of Fundamental Rights (Fair Credit Reporting Act, Electronic Comm. Privacy Act)
5. Compensation for Certain Types of Harm
,Ch. 1
Since Texas is a right to work state, how does this affect an employee if a union is present?>>> **Right
to work has nothing to do with non-compete
- If union comes, employee can choose to join or not (if not, you can still work there)
- When a state is NOT a right-to-work state, employee is forced to join union (if not, they can no longer
work there)
Ch. 1
What are the SIX factors used to determine which employment laws apply?>>> 1. Public Sector or
Private Sector Employment
2. Unionized or Nonunion Workplace
3. Employer Size (Calculated by the payroll method)
4. Geographic Location
5. Government Contracts
6. Industry and Occupation
Ch. 1
What is the "payroll method" used to calculate employer size?>>> An employee is counted for each full
week between when she is hired and when she leaves employment
(regardless of the number of days or hours the employee worked during those weeks)
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
What Does an Employee Decide to Do When She Believes That Her Rights Were Violated?>>> The courts
and govt. agencies rely on individ. employees to come forward and assume the burden of taking legal
action to both remedy the harm that was done to them and to uphold public policy
Ch. 1
,(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?>>> Depends on:
1. the limitations period - clock starts ticking when employee receives unequivocal written/oral notice of
a decision (ex. termination)
2. if equitable tolling applies
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?
What is the limitations period for an employee to bring an unfair labor practice case?>>> Unfair labor
practices = NLRB
charges brought to NLRB within 6 months of occurence
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?
What is the limitations period for an employee to bring a discrimination case?>>> Discrimination = EEOC
- generally have 300 days to file charge with EEOC
- or 180 days in states that do not have their own state civil rights agencies)
- HOWEVER only 90 days to file suit if the EEOC's efforts to resolve case are unsuccessful
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?
, What is the limitations period for an employee to bring a wage dispute case?>>> Wage and hour dispute
= FLSA
- can go back as far as 3 years
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?
What is equitable tolling and when does it apply?>>> Equitable tolling = A court may excuse an untimely
filing:
1. if an employee is unaware of her rights bc she was actively misled by her employer
OR
2. the employer failed to meet its legal obligation to post information in the workplace
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?
How do courts apply the limitations period to discrimination cases?>>> Courts distinguish between:
1. Discrete acts (non-hiring or termination) that occur at particular points in time
2. Acts that recur and have a cumulative impact (such as repeated acts of harassment that over time
have created a hostile work environment) ** at least one incident of harassment occured during the
limitations period
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?
What did the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act establish?>>> ** Statute of Limita. Case (NOT Eq. Pay/Women
Rights)
Ch.1
What are the 5 sources of employment law?>>> 1. Constitution
2. Statutes (Title VII)
3. Executive Orders
4. Regulations (regul. issued by OSHA)
5. Common Law
Ch.1
What is the "Employment at Will" Doctrine?
(substantive right under employment law)>>> a. An employee can quit at any time for any reason or no
reason at all.
b. An employer can fire an employee at any time for any reason or no reason at all, except for reasons
prohibited by law
c. If the parties' relationship is governed by a contract, the contract controls
Ch. 1
What are the FIVE substantive rights under employment law that are exceptions to the Employment at
Will Doctrine?>>> 1. Nondiscrimination & Equal Employment Opportunity (Title VII, ADEA, Equal Pay Act,
ADA)
2. Freedom to Engage in Concerted Activity and Collective Bargaining (NLRA, Railway Labor Act)
3. Terms and Conditions of Employment that Meet Minimum Standards (FLSA, FMLA, OSHA)
4. Protection of Fundamental Rights (Fair Credit Reporting Act, Electronic Comm. Privacy Act)
5. Compensation for Certain Types of Harm
,Ch. 1
Since Texas is a right to work state, how does this affect an employee if a union is present?>>> **Right
to work has nothing to do with non-compete
- If union comes, employee can choose to join or not (if not, you can still work there)
- When a state is NOT a right-to-work state, employee is forced to join union (if not, they can no longer
work there)
Ch. 1
What are the SIX factors used to determine which employment laws apply?>>> 1. Public Sector or
Private Sector Employment
2. Unionized or Nonunion Workplace
3. Employer Size (Calculated by the payroll method)
4. Geographic Location
5. Government Contracts
6. Industry and Occupation
Ch. 1
What is the "payroll method" used to calculate employer size?>>> An employee is counted for each full
week between when she is hired and when she leaves employment
(regardless of the number of days or hours the employee worked during those weeks)
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
What Does an Employee Decide to Do When She Believes That Her Rights Were Violated?>>> The courts
and govt. agencies rely on individ. employees to come forward and assume the burden of taking legal
action to both remedy the harm that was done to them and to uphold public policy
Ch. 1
,(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?>>> Depends on:
1. the limitations period - clock starts ticking when employee receives unequivocal written/oral notice of
a decision (ex. termination)
2. if equitable tolling applies
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?
What is the limitations period for an employee to bring an unfair labor practice case?>>> Unfair labor
practices = NLRB
charges brought to NLRB within 6 months of occurence
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?
What is the limitations period for an employee to bring a discrimination case?>>> Discrimination = EEOC
- generally have 300 days to file charge with EEOC
- or 180 days in states that do not have their own state civil rights agencies)
- HOWEVER only 90 days to file suit if the EEOC's efforts to resolve case are unsuccessful
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?
, What is the limitations period for an employee to bring a wage dispute case?>>> Wage and hour dispute
= FLSA
- can go back as far as 3 years
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?
What is equitable tolling and when does it apply?>>> Equitable tolling = A court may excuse an untimely
filing:
1. if an employee is unaware of her rights bc she was actively misled by her employer
OR
2. the employer failed to meet its legal obligation to post information in the workplace
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?
How do courts apply the limitations period to discrimination cases?>>> Courts distinguish between:
1. Discrete acts (non-hiring or termination) that occur at particular points in time
2. Acts that recur and have a cumulative impact (such as repeated acts of harassment that over time
have created a hostile work environment) ** at least one incident of harassment occured during the
limitations period
Ch. 1
(Procedures for Enforcing Employment Law)
How Long Does the Employee Have to Bring a Case?
What did the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act establish?>>> ** Statute of Limita. Case (NOT Eq. Pay/Women
Rights)
