C233 WGU EMPLOYMENT LAW QUESTIONS &
ANSWERS
American Disabilities Act (ADA) - Answer -Employers with 15 or more employees are
prohibited from discriminating against people with disabilities. In general, the
employment provisions of the ADA require:
- equal opportunity in selecting, testing, and hiring qualified applicants with disabilities
- job accomodation for applicants and workers with disabilities when such
accomodations would not impose "undue hardship"
- equal opportunity in promotion and benefits
Affirmative action - Answer -Making an extra effort to hire and promote those in
protected groups, particularly when those groups are underrepresented
Affirmative action plan - Answer -Plan that analyzes a workforce to determine whether
protected classes are underutilized in different job groups, and describes how an
organization will address any underutilization that exists
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) - Answer -Act prohibiting arbitrary age
discrimination, specifically protecting individuals over the age of 40
Agency theory - Answer -Person (for example, a manager) is expected to act on behalf
of a principal (for example, the owner of the company)
Animus - Answer -Mind set or intention
Arbitration - Answer -A procedure for resolving collective bargaining impasses by which
an arbitrator (third party) chooses a solution to the dispute
Bargaining unit - Answer -A group of employees performing jobs in an industry with
sufficient "community of interests" to constitute a unit to be represented in collective
bargaining
BFOQ (Bonafide Occupational Qualifications) - Answer -Job requirements that an
employee be a particular religion, sex, or national origin that is reasonably necessary to
business operations. For instance, it is assumed that an opening for a Baptist minister
at a local Baptist church would be filled by a minister who is actually a person who
celebrates the Baptist religion and not, say, the Episcopal religion
Business necessity - Answer -A practice necessary for safe and efficient organizational
operations
, Case law - Answer -The law is laid down in the the decisions for the courts (distinct
from statutes or other sources of law)
Civil law - Answer -Laws that deal with the rights of people rather than with crimes
Color - Answer -Skin pigmentation especially other than white characteristic of race
Common law - Answer -Principles developed over centuries as a result of legal
decisions made by judges in individual cases
Comparable worth - Answer -A public policy that advocates remedies for any
undervaluation of women's jobs (also called pay equity)
Complaint - Answer -A formal allegation against a party
Conciliation - Answer -Process where a third party acts as an intermediary between the
parties in a labor dispute, helping them to reach a settlement
Conglomerate - Answer -A highly diversified firm that has multiple businesses with no
relationships
Constructive discharge - Answer -Dismissal that occurs when an employer forces and
employee to resign by creating a work environment that is so unpleasant that a
reasonable person would resign
Continual training - Answer -A mandate that all employers provide training to workers
on a periodic basis, and whenever an employee is hired or assigned to a new job
Covenant of good faith - Answer -A presumption that each party in a contract will deal
with each other in good faith and fairness
Defamation - Answer -Communication that damages an individual's reputation in the
community, preventing them from obtaining employment or other benefits
Discovery - Answer -Procedures for gathering facts prior to the time of trial in order to
eliminate the element of surprise in litigation
Disparate impact - Answer -Effect when an employment practice that may appear to be
fair unintentionally discriminates against members of a protected class
Disparate treatment - Answer -Theory of discrimination based on different treatment
given to individuals because of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or
disability status
ANSWERS
American Disabilities Act (ADA) - Answer -Employers with 15 or more employees are
prohibited from discriminating against people with disabilities. In general, the
employment provisions of the ADA require:
- equal opportunity in selecting, testing, and hiring qualified applicants with disabilities
- job accomodation for applicants and workers with disabilities when such
accomodations would not impose "undue hardship"
- equal opportunity in promotion and benefits
Affirmative action - Answer -Making an extra effort to hire and promote those in
protected groups, particularly when those groups are underrepresented
Affirmative action plan - Answer -Plan that analyzes a workforce to determine whether
protected classes are underutilized in different job groups, and describes how an
organization will address any underutilization that exists
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) - Answer -Act prohibiting arbitrary age
discrimination, specifically protecting individuals over the age of 40
Agency theory - Answer -Person (for example, a manager) is expected to act on behalf
of a principal (for example, the owner of the company)
Animus - Answer -Mind set or intention
Arbitration - Answer -A procedure for resolving collective bargaining impasses by which
an arbitrator (third party) chooses a solution to the dispute
Bargaining unit - Answer -A group of employees performing jobs in an industry with
sufficient "community of interests" to constitute a unit to be represented in collective
bargaining
BFOQ (Bonafide Occupational Qualifications) - Answer -Job requirements that an
employee be a particular religion, sex, or national origin that is reasonably necessary to
business operations. For instance, it is assumed that an opening for a Baptist minister
at a local Baptist church would be filled by a minister who is actually a person who
celebrates the Baptist religion and not, say, the Episcopal religion
Business necessity - Answer -A practice necessary for safe and efficient organizational
operations
, Case law - Answer -The law is laid down in the the decisions for the courts (distinct
from statutes or other sources of law)
Civil law - Answer -Laws that deal with the rights of people rather than with crimes
Color - Answer -Skin pigmentation especially other than white characteristic of race
Common law - Answer -Principles developed over centuries as a result of legal
decisions made by judges in individual cases
Comparable worth - Answer -A public policy that advocates remedies for any
undervaluation of women's jobs (also called pay equity)
Complaint - Answer -A formal allegation against a party
Conciliation - Answer -Process where a third party acts as an intermediary between the
parties in a labor dispute, helping them to reach a settlement
Conglomerate - Answer -A highly diversified firm that has multiple businesses with no
relationships
Constructive discharge - Answer -Dismissal that occurs when an employer forces and
employee to resign by creating a work environment that is so unpleasant that a
reasonable person would resign
Continual training - Answer -A mandate that all employers provide training to workers
on a periodic basis, and whenever an employee is hired or assigned to a new job
Covenant of good faith - Answer -A presumption that each party in a contract will deal
with each other in good faith and fairness
Defamation - Answer -Communication that damages an individual's reputation in the
community, preventing them from obtaining employment or other benefits
Discovery - Answer -Procedures for gathering facts prior to the time of trial in order to
eliminate the element of surprise in litigation
Disparate impact - Answer -Effect when an employment practice that may appear to be
fair unintentionally discriminates against members of a protected class
Disparate treatment - Answer -Theory of discrimination based on different treatment
given to individuals because of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or
disability status
