Questions about Employment Law

QUESTIONS ABOUT EMPLOYMENT LAW
1. An employer who closes the business rather than deal with the union his employees have formed:
a. does not violate the National Labor Relations Act.
b. cannot do it to inhibit unionizing
c. is required under the WARN Act to give the employees 60 days' notice
d. must bargain in good faith with the union before deciding to go out of business

2. Non-competition agreements:
a. Are almost always enforced by the courts.
b. will be enforced unless former employees can show that the agreements are overly broad
c. will not be enforced unless the former employer can show that they are no more restrictive than necessary
d. are less commonly used now than in the past.

3. Just cause is required for the discipline or discharge of unionized employees because:
a. the Constitution requires it.
b. labor agreements require it.
c. the National Labor Relations Act requires it.
d. arbitrators prefer the just cause standard to employment at will.

4. You are the HR Manager for your company. One of your employees has been actively involved in demonstrations at City Hall, protesting the city's refusal to adopt any environmentally-friendly ordinances or practices. While at these protests, he is often wearing a company T-shirt, and you are concerned that news reports of the demonstrations will lead people to conclude that your company is protesting the city's environmental policies, something which your Board of Directors has not authorized. What should you do?
a. Give the employee a "warning," the first step in your employee handbook's progressive discipline process, warning him that he must stop protesting.
b. Tell the employee that you do not approve of his conduct and that it will be taken into account when he comes up for a raise of promotion.
c. Ask the employee to wear some other shirt while protesting so that people do not think your company is also protesting.
d. Terminate the employee.

5. Which of the following is NOT a factor considered by the courts in determining whether a quit was actually a constructive discharge?
a. Demotions
b. Reductions in job responsibilities
c. Reassignment to greater responsibility
d. Badgering

6. Over lunch, a manager at Microsoft says to another manager, "You know, just between you and me, it might not have been the worst thing in the world if the court had ordered the company to break up. We really are too big." The comment was overheard by another employee at the next table and passed on to higher-level managers. If the manager is fired for making the statement and consequently sues Microsoft, a court would most likely rule:
a. for the employee because she would be covered under whistleblower protection laws.
b. for the employee because the company would be violating her First Amendment right of free speech.
c. for the employer because she is employed at will and none of the exceptions to employment at will apply in this case.
d. for the employer because her statements showed disloyalty to the company, for which she could lawfully be terminated.

7. An employer decides to downsize to cut costs. It plans to eliminate 100 jobs out of 250 total jobs. The employer notifies the employees' union representative on May 15. The layoffs will be effective May 30. If the employer's action is legally challenged, a court would most likely decide:
a. for the employer because it is not large enough to be covered under the WARN Act.
b. for the employer because there is no plant closing or mass layoff that would trigger the WARN Act's requirements.
c. for the employees because they did not receive individual notification as required by the WARN Act.
d. for the employees because they did not receive the amount of advance notice of a mass layoff required by the WARN Act.

8. Which is NOT an element of a claim for promissory estoppel in a discharge case?
a. There was a clear promise.
b. The employee had a second/alternative job offer.
c. The employee reasonably relied on the promise.
d. The employee relied to his/her detriment.

9. In Dillon v. Champion Jogbra, Dillon claimed a wrongful discharge maintaining that modifications of the employee manual created an implied contract negating the employer's claim that she was an at-will employee. What did the court say?
a. When the terms of a manual are ambiguous...or send mixed messages regarding an employee's status, the question of whether the presumptive at-will status has been modified results in a presumption in favor of the employer.
b. When the terms of a manual are ambiguous...or send mixed messages regarding an employee's status, the question of whether the presumptive at-will status has been modified results in a presumption in favor of the employee.
c. An employer may modify an at-will employment agreement unilaterally.
d. An employer may only modify an at-will employment agreement bilaterally in agreement with the employee.

10. In order to prevent employee handbooks from being interpreted as contractual promises, the company should:
a. have employees sign a contract stating that they promise not to sue based on the employee handbook.
b. not use an employee handbook.
c. use disclaimers.
d. use constructive discharge.