CCS Compliance and Legal Considerations 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which law requires staffing agencies to post notices about employees' rights to a safe workplace?
- FLSA
- OSHA Act of 1970 (Correct answer)
- ERISA
- COBRA
Correct answer: OSHA Act of 1970
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires employers, including staffing agencies, to post the OSHA 'Job Safety and Health: It's the Law' poster.
Question 2: A staffing firm is audited and found to have misclassified workers as independent contractors to avoid payroll taxes. Which agency most directly oversees this issue?
- EEOC
- IRS and Department of Labor (Correct answer)
- NLRB
- OSHA
Correct answer: IRS and Department of Labor
Worker misclassification is jointly enforced by the IRS (for tax obligations) and the Department of Labor (for wage and hour requirements).
Question 3: Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, a staffing firm may NOT:
- Ask a candidate about childcare arrangements
- Refuse to place a pregnant worker solely because of her pregnancy
- Offer lighter duty assignments if requested
- Both A and B (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Both A and B
The PDA prohibits treating pregnant workers adversely because of pregnancy; asking about childcare arrangements also constitutes unlawful sex discrimination.
Question 4: An agency's client requests that only workers of a specific ethnicity be sent for assignments. The staffing firm should:
- Comply to maintain the client relationship
- Comply only if the client provides a written business justification
- Refuse and document the discriminatory request (Correct answer)
- Forward the request to EEOC for review
Correct answer: Refuse and document the discriminatory request
Staffing agencies must refuse discriminatory placement orders and document them, as complying would make the agency liable for violating Title VII.
Question 5: The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women performing 'substantially equal' work receive equal pay. Which factor is NOT a valid defense to an equal pay disparity?
- Seniority system
- Merit system
- Gender of the employees (Correct answer)
- A factor other than sex
Correct answer: Gender of the employees
Gender is never a valid justification for pay differences under the Equal Pay Act; only seniority, merit, production quantity/quality, or a factor other than sex are valid defenses.
Question 6: State 'ban-the-box' laws primarily restrict staffing agencies from:
- Checking references before an offer is made
- Asking about criminal history early in the application process (Correct answer)
- Running background checks without written consent
- Posting job ads without EEO language
Correct answer: Asking about criminal history early in the application process
Ban-the-box laws delay inquiries into criminal history until later in the hiring process, typically after a conditional offer of employment.
Question 7: When a staffing firm's temporary worker files a harassment complaint, the firm should FIRST:
- Notify the client and wait for their investigation
- Immediately terminate the worker to avoid liability
- Conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation (Correct answer)
- Advise the worker to file directly with the EEOC
Correct answer: Conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation
Best practice and legal obligation require the staffing firm to promptly investigate harassment complaints, regardless of whether the alleged harasser is at the client site.
CCS Compliance and Legal Considerations 3
Which law requires staffing agencies to post notices about employees' rights to a safe workplace?