Your Rights on the Job (U.S. Federal) Quiz

Answer: False

In the United States, employment is generally "at will." That means that an employer can fire someone for "a good reason, a bad reason or no reason at all." While there are federal laws that protect employees from being fired for certain reasons, it is not against the law to fire someone for a reason that is simply arbitrary or unfair. Unless an employee has a union which protects them, or lives in Montana (the only state which prohibits these types of firings), they work at the will of the boss.

Answer: Because the employee is gay

There are federal laws protecting employees from discrimination on the basis of race, gender and disability. However, while a few states (plus DC) prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, there is no federal law making such discrimination unlawful, and employees who do not live in a state or city with such a ban are unprotected.

Answer: True

States can and do set higher minimum wages than the federal government. In fact, unless state law prohibits it, cities can set minimum wages.

Answer: True

The National Labor Relations Act protects the rights of employees to form a union. It is unlawful for an employer to retaliate or discriminate against an employee for exercising this right.

Answer: False

The Constitution's Bill of Rights only protect you from the government. The First Amendment, for instance, prohibits the government from violating your freedom of speech, but it has no impact on a private employer who is not connected to the government. So unless you are a government employee, don't look to the Constitution for protection.

Answer: quid pro quo and hostile environment

Quid pro quo sexual harassment is where someone is threatened or promised a benefit for engaging or failing to engage in a sex act or submit to sexual harassment (i.e., "if you sleep with me, you could get a very nice raise"). Hostile environment harassment is where the workplace setting creates an environment which is, itself, harassment (i.e., pornographic pictures posted on walls, lots of talk about sex and sex acts, etc.).

Answer: none

There is no legally required vacation, paid or unpaid.

Answer: 0 days

As with vacation, there is no legal requirement that an employer provide holidays, paid or unpaid.

Answer: NAACP

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) protects the rights of workers forming a union, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) takes cases of employees who have been discriminated against by their employer, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces health and safety regulations on the job.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a private institution which advocates for civil rights, including civil rights on the job.

Answer: You have a union

If you are a non-union employee, you can be fired for almost any reason, even if you live in California, are the firm's top money maker and have Johnny Cochran on retainer. One way to protect yourself on the job is to form a union. A union negotiates a legally enforceable contract with the employer. Most such contracts, known as collective bargaining agreements, include provisions which require "just cause" for any firing.

This means that an employer can no longer fire a person for any reason at all, but must have a "just cause". Without such a contract, employees can be fired for almost any reason without recourse.

Answer: False

The National Labor Relations Act protects your right to discuss your salary and working conditions with others. After all, how are you supposed to know if you are being treated fairly, unless you can compare your salary to others?

Answer: All of these

Every level of the government, federal, state, and local, can pass laws which offer protection to employees. Even if federal law does not protect you, your state, county or city may have laws on the books which offer more and different protections than the federal law.

Answer: Your regular hourly rate plus one-half

The Fair Labor Standards Act sets wages and overtime pay. It requires that employees receive the federal minimum wage. It also states that if an employee works more than 40 hours per week, they are entitled to 1 1/2 times their regular rate of pay for the extra hours.

Answer: Yes

Title VII does not apply to employers who have fewer than 15 employees. However, section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act prohibits race discrimination without regard to the size of the employer and some states have anti-discrimination laws which effect smaller employers.

Answer: The employer must accommodate the person's disability within reason

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an employer has a duty to "reasonably accommodate" an employee with a disability. The employer must make accommodations that allow the employee to perform his/her job but need not make any accommodation which would constitute an "undue burden".