CHP Law and Ethics 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which employees are entitled to overtime pay at 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 per week?
- Non-exempt hourly employees (Correct answer)
- Salaried managers earning above the threshold
- Independent contractors
- Tipped employees who receive a tip credit
Correct answer: Non-exempt hourly employees
Non-exempt employees under FLSA must receive overtime pay of at least 1.5 times their regular rate for all hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek.
Question 2: What is the primary purpose of a hotel's Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) from a legal risk perspective?
- To establish documented protocols that demonstrate reasonable care and reduce negligence liability (Correct answer)
- To increase profitability through standardized service delivery
- To comply with brand standards set by the franchisor
- To simplify employee training and onboarding
Correct answer: To establish documented protocols that demonstrate reasonable care and reduce negligence liability
SOPs serve as evidence of reasonable care standards, which can protect hotels from negligence claims when procedures are properly followed.
Question 3: A guest slips on a wet floor near the pool that had no warning sign posted. The hotel is most likely liable under which legal theory?
- Premises liability due to failure to warn of a known hazard (Correct answer)
- Product liability for defective pool construction
- Strict liability for inherently dangerous activities
- Contractual liability from the guest's reservation agreement
Correct answer: Premises liability due to failure to warn of a known hazard
Hotels owe guests a duty of care to maintain safe premises, and failure to warn of known hazards like wet floors constitutes premises liability.
Question 4: Which privacy law primarily governs how U.S. hotels must handle the personal data of guests from European Union countries?
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Correct answer)
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
- Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
Correct answer: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
GDPR applies to any organization processing personal data of EU residents regardless of where the organization is located.
Question 5: A hotel manager asks a female front desk employee to wear a more revealing uniform than her male colleagues. This is an example of which type of illegal discrimination?
- Sex discrimination based on disparate treatment (Correct answer)
- Hostile work environment harassment
- Quid pro quo sexual harassment
- Religious discrimination
Correct answer: Sex discrimination based on disparate treatment
Requiring different dress standards based on sex constitutes disparate treatment sex discrimination under Title VII.
Question 6: Which document legally binds a hotel franchise relationship and outlines brand standards, royalty fees, and territorial rights?
- Franchise disclosure document (FDD) and franchise agreement (Correct answer)
- Management contract
- Operating covenant
- Letter of intent
Correct answer: Franchise disclosure document (FDD) and franchise agreement
The FDD and franchise agreement are the legally binding documents governing the franchisor-franchisee relationship including fees and standards.
Question 7: When a hotel is found to have engaged in 'bait and switch' advertising by promoting unavailable rates, it may violate which regulatory framework?
- FTC regulations prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts and practices (Correct answer)
- The Sherman Antitrust Act
- The Truth in Lending Act
- OSHA workplace safety standards
Correct answer: FTC regulations prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts and practices
The FTC prohibits deceptive advertising practices including bait-and-switch schemes that lure consumers with unavailable offers.
CHP Law and Ethics 3
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which employees are entitled to overtime pay at 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 per week?