CPM Employment Law & Ethical Practices 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), what is the primary obligation of an employer when a qualified employee requests a workplace accommodation?
- Immediately grant any accommodation requested
- Engage in an interactive process to identify effective accommodations (Correct answer)
- Provide only accommodations listed in company policy
- Deny the request if it affects any other employee
Correct answer: Engage in an interactive process to identify effective accommodations
The ADA requires employers to engage in a good-faith interactive process with the employee to explore reasonable accommodations.
Question 2: Which law prohibits employers with 50 or more employees from discriminating based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions?
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) (Correct answer)
- Equal Pay Act
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
Correct answer: Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 amended Title VII to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions.
Question 3: An employee reports a safety violation to OSHA after raising the concern internally without resolution. The manager then reassigns the employee to undesirable shifts. This is an example of:
- Constructive discharge
- Whistleblower retaliation (Correct answer)
- Legitimate performance management
- At-will employment termination
Correct answer: Whistleblower retaliation
Adverse employment actions taken in response to protected whistleblower activity constitute illegal retaliation under OSHA and other statutes.
Question 4: Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which category of employees is exempt from overtime pay requirements?
- All salaried employees regardless of job duties
- Part-time employees who work under 30 hours per week
- Employees meeting both salary level and duties tests for executive, administrative, or professional exemptions (Correct answer)
- Employees who voluntarily waive their overtime rights in writing
Correct answer: Employees meeting both salary level and duties tests for executive, administrative, or professional exemptions
FLSA exemptions require satisfying both a minimum salary threshold and specific duties tests; salary alone does not determine exempt status.
Question 5: A manager discovers that a subordinate has been falsifying expense reports. Before terminating the employee, what ethical and legal best practice should the manager follow?
- Terminate immediately to send a message to other employees
- Conduct a thorough investigation, document findings, and consult HR and legal counsel (Correct answer)
- Issue a written warning and allow the employee to repay the amount
- Ignore the issue if the amounts are small
Correct answer: Conduct a thorough investigation, document findings, and consult HR and legal counsel
Due process requires investigation and documentation before termination, reducing legal exposure and ensuring fair treatment.
Question 6: Which principle requires that disciplinary actions be proportional to the severity of the infraction and consistent across all employees?
- Employment at will
- Progressive discipline
- Just cause (Correct answer)
- Constructive discharge
Correct answer: Just cause
The just cause standard requires that discipline be reasonable, consistent, and proportionate to the employee's conduct.
Question 7: Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which type of discrimination occurs when a neutral employment policy disproportionately excludes members of a protected class?
- Disparate treatment
- Quid pro quo harassment
- Disparate impact (Correct answer)
- Constructive discharge
Correct answer: Disparate impact
Disparate impact refers to employment practices that appear neutral but have a statistically disproportionate adverse effect on protected groups.
CPM Employment Law & Ethical Practices 2
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), what is the primary obligation of an employer when a qualified employee requests a workplace accommodation?