CERs Legal Compliance & Labor Regulations 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The concept of 'ban-the-box' laws primarily restricts employers from:
- Requiring drug tests before a conditional job offer
- Asking about criminal history on initial job applications (Correct answer)
- Using credit checks in hiring for non-financial roles
- Requiring social media passwords during the hiring process
Correct answer: Asking about criminal history on initial job applications
Ban-the-box laws delay criminal history inquiries until later in the hiring process — typically after an initial interview or conditional offer — to reduce automatic screening out of applicants with records.
Question 2: Under the FCRA, before taking adverse action based on a background check, an employer must:
- File a report with the EEOC within 30 days
- Provide the candidate a pre-adverse action notice and a copy of the report (Correct answer)
- Wait 60 days before informing the candidate
- Obtain written consent from the candidate's previous employer
Correct answer: Provide the candidate a pre-adverse action notice and a copy of the report
The FCRA's adverse action process requires a pre-adverse action notice with the report and Summary of Rights, a reasonable waiting period, and then a final adverse action notice.
Question 3: Which Executive Order requires federal contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action to ensure equal employment opportunity?
- Executive Order 11246 (Correct answer)
- Executive Order 13496
- Executive Order 13658
- Executive Order 11375
Correct answer: Executive Order 11246
Executive Order 11246, enforced by the OFCCP, requires covered federal contractors to maintain affirmative action programs and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
Question 4: A client asks an ethical recruiter to avoid sending candidates who are 'too old.' Under the ADEA, the ethical recruiter should:
- Comply but document the request in case of an audit
- Refuse to follow the instruction and inform the client it violates the ADEA (Correct answer)
- Submit only candidates under 40 to protect the staffing agency from liability
- Ask the EEOC for a temporary exemption before proceeding
Correct answer: Refuse to follow the instruction and inform the client it violates the ADEA
Ethical recruiters must refuse discriminatory client requests; following such an instruction makes the recruiter potentially liable as a third-party participant in age discrimination.
Question 5: Which state-level concept gives employees the right to be terminated only for legitimate, non-arbitrary reasons, limiting the 'at-will' employment doctrine?
- Right-to-work statutes
- Implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing (Correct answer)
- The employment-at-will presumption
- Statutory exemption clauses
Correct answer: Implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing
The implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing is one of several exceptions to at-will employment recognized in some states, requiring that terminations not be arbitrary or in bad faith.
Question 6: OSHA's General Duty Clause requires employers to:
- Train all employees in OSHA standards annually
- Provide a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause serious harm (Correct answer)
- Report all workplace injuries to the DOL within 24 hours
- Purchase workers' compensation insurance for every employee
Correct answer: Provide a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause serious harm
Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act — the General Duty Clause — obligates every employer to provide a hazard-free workplace even when no specific OSHA standard addresses the hazard.
Question 7: When must an employer complete and retain Form I-9 for a new hire?
- Before the first day of work
- By the end of the employee's third business day of employment (Correct answer)
- Within 30 days of the hire date
- At the time the offer letter is signed
Correct answer: By the end of the employee's third business day of employment
Employees must present I-9 documents by the end of their third business day of employment; the employer must examine and complete Section 2 of the form within that same window.
CERs Legal Compliance & Labor Regulations 4
The concept of 'ban-the-box' laws primarily restricts employers from: