True or False: Common law includes statutes and ordinances enacted by legislative bodies.

Graded Practice Questions (75 total points) – Type your answers under the questions.  Please know that the more points a question is worth, the more in-depth your answer should be.  Labor and legal questions are usually more complicated than just “yes” or “no” or a simple answer. Show me how you got to your conclusion.  If a question is worth 10 points and you only answer “no”, then you will likely earn only 1-2 points for an incomplete answer. 

1.        True or False:  Common law includes statutes and ordinances enacted by legislative bodies.  (5 pts.  Bold, circle, highlight or otherwise mark your choice)

           True

           False

2.        Multiple Choice:  A situation wherein either the employer or the worker could terminate their relationship at any time for any reason is known as: (5 pts.  Bold, circle, highlight or otherwise mark your choice)

                       a.         common law.

                       b.         employment-at-will. 

                       c.         willful misconduct.

                       d.         employer’s liability act.

3.        List 5 federal and/or state laws that promote employee health, safety, and welfare. 5 pts.

4.         Daniel is an engineer at Temple Engineering, Inc. in Temple, Texas.  He has worked there for two years and has gotten consistently good performance reviews.  In the Fall, he comes to work wearing a “University of Oklahoma” polo shirt on casual Friday.  His boss, Leroy, is a very loyal University of Texas fan and wears his orange University of Texas polo shirt every Friday.  He is shocked and horrified to find out that one of his employees is a fan of the University of Oklahoma football team.  Leroy immediately fires Daniel because he is a fan of the University of Oklahoma.  Has Daniel been wrongfully discharged?  Why or why not?  Explain your answer FULLY. A 1-2 sentence answer will not be sufficient. 10 points. 

5.         What is a contract? Explain the differences between express and implied contracts? 5 pts. 

6.         Employees of public companies are protected from retaliation for engaging in certain whistleblowing activities under: (5 pts.  Bold, circle, highlight or otherwise mark your choice)

                        a.         the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

                        b.         the Workers’ Compensation Act.

                        c.         the National Labor Relations Act.

                        d.         the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

7.         Gary is angry with his boss after his boss, Thaddeus, criticized him in front of all of the other employees.  After work that night, Gary goes home and has quite a few beers.  While drunk, Gary writes a note and mails it to all of his co-workers telling everyone that his boss is stealing from the petty cash and is cheating on his wife.  Neither of these allegations is true and he knows it. The next day Thaddeus hears that Gary sent letters to all of his co-workers that he was a thief and an adulterer.  What tort could Thaddeus sue Gary on?  Be specific.  5 points.

8.         True or False:  Misappropriation of trade secrets is considered a crime in some states. (5 pts.  Bold, circle, highlight or otherwise mark your choice)

            True

            False

9.  What is qualified privilege and which kind of privilege is provided to public and private employees? 10 points.

10.  True or False:  Neither private nor public sector employers have rights to monitor the use of employer-owned computers.  (5 pts.  Bold, circle, highlight or otherwise mark your choice)

            True

            False

11.  What entities are covered by HIPPA?  (5 pts)

12.  What can a business do to insulate their entity from liability in regards to drug testing?  What are some things that their policy should include?  (5 pts)

13.  The Human Resource (HR) department of a company maintains employee personal files. Bradley, an employee of a leather manufacturing company was terminated by his supervisor on the basis of facts that were found in the file. Considering this scenario, who else, apart from the HR department and supervisors, are allowed access to employee personal files? (5 pts.  Bold, circle, highlight or otherwise mark your choice)

            A.        private entities           

            B.        co-workers     

            C.        legal department                  

            D.        general public