Question 1

Emmanuel & Petersen LLP is a law firm that specializes in litigation.The firm is looking for a qualified person to fill the secretary position.A criterion for selection is that the person should be able to type at least 65 words a minute.If a group of male applicants challenges this policy as being discriminatory against generally slower-typing males,the company could defend the typing-speed requirement as a:

Accepted Answer

Emmanuel & Petersen LLP could defend the typing-speed requirement as a business necessity. In a disparate impact claim, the employer can use the defense that the challenged policy, neutral on its face, that has a disparate impact on a group protected by law is actually job related and consistent with business necessity.

Question 2

Carl has been working as a sales executive with All Fame Cosmetics Inc.for more than a year.His work has been appreciated by his seniors and he regularly meets his sales targets.However,he has not received any incentive or commission that was promised to him by his employer during his pre-employment interview.If Carl decides to file a case against All Fame Cosmetics,he has:

Accepted Answer

Carl has a cause of action for breach of implied contract. An implied contract is not expressed but, instead, is created by other words or conduct of the parties involved. Courts have found contracts implied from off-hand statements made by employers during pre-employment interviews, such as a statement that a candidate will become a "permanent" employee after a trial period, or quotes of yearly or other periodic salaries, or statements in employee handbooks.

Question 3

To avoid charges of wrongful termination and employment discrimination,the management of Genkee Inc.started introducing new rules and regulations that would create an unfavorable work environment specifically for female employees.Unable to cope with the new rules,many female employees quit.This is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of constructive discharge. Constructive discharge usually evolves from circumstances where an employer knows that it would be wrongful to terminate an employee for one reason or another. So, to avoid being sued for wrongful termination, the employer creates an environment where the employee has no choice but to leave.

Question 4

In which type(s)of discrimination claims must an employer make reasonable attempts to accommodate the employee?

Accepted Answer

Discrimination is simply prohibited on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, or age. When it comes to religion and disabilities, the law imposes on the employer a duty to attempt to accommodate the disability or religious conflict, but only to the extent that it does not cause the employer an undue hardship (which is determined on a case-by-case basis using certain specific criteria).

Question 5

Lia files an employment discrimination case against her employer.She can also file a retaliation claim if she:

Accepted Answer

Lia can file a retaliation claim against her employer if she is demoted to a lower-level job after filing the discrimination case. Retaliation can take any number of forms. For instance, an employer may be angry that an employee filed a sexual harassment claim and begins to give the employee less responsibility than before, exclude the employee from meetings in which the employee may once have been included, assign the employee to less prestigious assignments than the employee has always had, change hours to a much less desirable schedule, or even demote or terminate the employee.

Question 6

An employer's defense to an employment discrimination claim might include a simple demonstration that the employee's evidence is not true.This defense might include all of the following except:

Accepted Answer

The employer may present other defenses including that the employee's evidence is not true-that is, this is not the employer's policy as alleged or it was not applied as the employee alleges, the employee's statistics regarding the policy's disparate impact are incorrect and there is no disparate impact, or the treatment the employee says she or he received did not occur.

Question 7

Congress can express its disagreement with a U.S.Supreme Court decision by:

Accepted Answer

Once a case is heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, there is no other court to which it can be appealed. Under our country's constitutionally based system of checks and balances, if Congress, who passed the law the Court interpreted, believes the Court's interpretation is not in keeping with the law's intended purpose, Congress can pass a law that reflects that determination.

Question 8

Which of the following forms a basis for an employer to use a bona fide occupational qualification defense (BFOQ)to defend employment discrimination claims under the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Accepted Answer

Employers may defend against disparate treatment cases by showing that the basis for the employer's intentional discrimination is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) reasonably necessary for the employer's particular business. This is available only for disparate treatment cases involving gender, religion, and national origin and is not available for race or color.

Question 9

An employee may experience retaliation in a number of different ways.Retaliation may include all of the following,except:

Accepted Answer

Retaliation can take any number of forms. For instance, an employer may be angry that an employee filed a sexual harassment claim and begins to give the employee less responsibility than before, exclude the employee from meetings in which the employee may once have been included, assign the employee to less prestigious assignments than the employee has always had, change hours to a much less desirable schedule, or even demote or terminate the employee. This is in addition to the original action that resulted in the employee suing for discrimination in the first place and, as such, is the basis for a separate cause of action against the employer for retaliation.

Question 10

Jessica wants to file a discrimination claim against her current employer.She consults her lawyer and learns that she cannot directly file a case in court.She needs to first file a case with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).This is called ________.

Accepted Answer

The need to first file a discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is called exhaustion of administrative remedies. The statutory schemes set out for employment discrimination claims require that claimants first pursue their grievances within the agency created to handle such claims, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). All of the protective statutes provide for courts to hear employment discrimination claims only after the claimant has done all that can be done at the agency level.

Question 11

The bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)defense is available for cases involving all of the following except:

Accepted Answer

Employers also may defend against disparate treatment cases by showing that the basis for the employer's intentional discrimination is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) reasonably necessary for the employer's particular business. This is available only for disparate treatment cases involving gender, religion, and national origin and is not available for race or color. BFOQ is legalized discrimination and, therefore, very narrowly construed by the courts.

Question 12

Angus,a recent university graduate of Scottish descent,was refused employment at Barlen Inc.because he failed to achieve a high enough score on a valid,reliable skills test.Believing that he has been the victim of employment discrimination,Angus sues Barlen Inc.He asks the court to order Barlen Inc.to use different cutoff scores for all Scottish-descent test-takers,claiming that no one of Scottish descent had ever achieved a satisfactory score.In this scenario,can the court grant the relief Angus seeks?

Accepted Answer

The court cannot grant the relief Angus seeks because the Civil Rights Act of 1991 makes it an unfair employment practice for an employer to adjust the scores of, or to use different cutoff scores for, or to otherwise alter the results of, an employment-related test on the basis of a prohibited category. Employers' policies should ensure that everyone has an equal chance at the job, based on qualifications.

Question 13

In order to prove a retaliatory discharge claim,an employee must show that:

Accepted Answer

In order to prove a retaliatory discharge claim, an employee must show that he or she was participating in a protected activity, there was an adverse employment action toward the employee by the employer, and there is causal connection between the employee's protected activity and the adverse action taken by the employer.

Question 14

The following are elements of a prima facie case of disparate treatment discrimination except:

Accepted Answer

To establish a prima facie case of disparate treatment employment discrimination, the individual must demonstrate: 1) the employee belongs to a protected class under Title VII; 2) the employee applied for and was qualified for a job; 3) the employee was rejected, and after rejection the position remained open; and 4) the employer continued to seek applications with the rejected applicant's qualifications. Disparate treatment discrimination is overt; there are no hidden criteria.

Question 15

In the case of disparate impact employment discrimination,a job criterion that seems neutral on its face may adversely impact a protected class.Which of the following could lead to a claim of disparate impact discrimination?

Accepted Answer

There need not be evil intent to discriminate. Claimant must simply be able to be show that the difference in treatment occurred and had no sustainable justification, leaving a prohibited category as the only remaining conclusion. Prohibited categories include race, color, gender, religion, and national origin.

Question 16

The key players in a trial are:

Accepted Answer

The case name is derived from the parties involved-the first name is the party suing (called plaintiff at the district court level) and the second name is the party being sued (called defendant at the district court level). At the court of appeals and Supreme Court level, the first name reflects who appealed the case to that court. It may or may not be the party who initially brought the case. At the court of appeals level, the person who appealed the case to the court of appeals is known as the appellant and their name would be first and the other party responding to the appeal is known as the appellee. At the Supreme Court level they are known as the petitioner and the respondent. Whoever brings the action at that level is the one whose name appears first in the title for that level of the case.

Question 17

A court of appeals can decide to do any or all of the following,except:

Accepted Answer

After the appellate court reviews the lower court's decision, the court of appeals will either affirm the lower court's decision and the decision is allowed to stand, or it will reverse the lower court's decision, which means the lower court's decision is overturned. If there is work still to be done on the case, the appellate court also will order remand. Remand is an order by the court of appeals to the lower court telling it to take the case back and do what needs to be done based on the court's decision.

Question 18

Which of the following job applicant screening devices may be used by an employer where the employer can demonstrate that the information is a business necessity?

Accepted Answer

Each of these screening devices potentially has a disparate impact. However, that does not mean that it will automatically be struck down as discriminatory. The employer can always show that the screening device is based on a legitimate business necessity, It is possible to demonstrate that each of these screening devices have a legitimate business need.

Question 19

James is an employee in the widget inspection department of XYZ Systems,a government contractor.James was part of a 3-person inspection team that found a particular batch of widgets did not meet the exacting requirements of the U.S.Government.In order to meet the tight deadline and avoid penalties under the contract,James' boss demanded that the batch of widgets be sent in fulfillment of the government contract.When James found out,he went to the vice president of the company and reported the situation.James was demoted by his boss,and no longer works on government projects.James has a:

Accepted Answer

James may have a cause of action for retaliation as a result of his whistleblowing. Presumably the defects in the widgets create a public safety issue. As a matter of public policy it is not appropriate to retaliate against an employee who reported the shipment of defective widgets.

Question 20

Maker Goods Inc.has a published workplace policy.It reads "Promotions to the level of supervisor and higher are limited to individuals with at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university." Which of the following is true of this policy?

Accepted Answer

This is a facially neutral employment policy. A facially neutral policy is a workplace policy that applies equally to all appropriate employees. If such a policy impacts protected groups more harshly than others, illegal discrimination may be found if the employer cannot show that the requirement is a legitimate business necessity. Federal law prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, and disability.

Quiz 2: The Employment Law Toolkit: Resources for Understanding the Law and Recurring Legal Concepts

In which type(s) of discrimination claims must an employer make reasonable attempts to accommodate the employee?