Reference no: EM13868692

Part A - Basic Knowledge (This is worth 30% of the test score. Each question is worth 2 points.)

1. The primary goal for most management negotiators in bargaining is to ________.

a. decrease the number of work hours
b. maximize the health insurance benefits provided to the employees
c. increase the value of the cost-of-living adjustments
d. minimize the cents-per-hour direct wage increase

2. True or False:A two-tier wage system is a wage system in which the wages received by the employees are directly proportional to their performance.

3. Which of the following statements is true regarding layoffs in unionized organizations?

a. In most labor contracts, the highest paid employees are laid off first, with further layoffs made in accordance with performance levels as necessary.
b. Agreements specify age as the sole decision criterion in layoff and recall situations.
c. If the workforce is increased after a layoff, laid-off employees are to be recalled according to past performance levels for appropriate jobs.
d. In cases involving temporary or emergency layoffs, management is often given more flexibility in selecting employees than in indefinite layoffs.

4. True or False:An employee is not entitled to a job assignment as a reasonable accommodation of his or her disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if the assignment would conflict with the rules of a seniority system.

5. True or False: In general, the burden of proof is placed on the employer to show that a bypassed senior employee is not competent for the job during promotions or layoff or recall actions.

6. True or False:The NLRA does not allow for a breach of an existing collective bargaining agreement due to financial hardship while Chapter 11 of the U. S. federal bankruptcy code does.

7. The union contract provisions usually include that ________ may request arbitration as a final step in resolving the grievance.

a. the NLRB
b. only management
c. the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
d. either management or labor

8. Which of the following factors is most likely to be considered by an arbitrator while resolving a case of employee misconduct?

a. the skill set of the employee
b. the educational qualification of the employee
c. the employee's length of service with the company
d. the employee's designation in the company

9. Which of the following is a major disadvantage of grievance mediation?

a. The process of grievance mediation is slower than arbitration.
b. The process of grievance mediation is more expensive than arbitration.
c. There is a possibility that the process of mediation will not lead to any settlement.
d. The process of grievance mediation is not confidential and the mediator is obliged to share the details mediation of with the public.

10. True or False:An employee has a legal right to report a grievance directly to a supervisor without informing the shop steward but the supervisor must notify the union of the grievance.

11. Which of the following statements is TRUE of arbitration of grievances under collective bargaining?

a. In determining whether there is a duty to arbitrate a dispute, the courts should examine the merits of the underlying grievance.
b. In labor contracts with an arbitration clause, if there is any doubt regarding the topics covered by the arbitration clause, then the topic should be considered as non-arbitrable.
c. The parties are not required to arbitrate a dispute that they have not agreed to submit to arbitration.
d. A court should enforce the decision of an arbitrator only after examining its correctness.

12. Which of the following is a difference between arbitration and litigation?

a. Arbitration hearings are more formal than litigation.
b. Arbitrators need not have legal training but people conducting litigation ought to have legal training.
c. The labor-management issues that are not covered by the collective bargaining agreement are resolved by arbitration whereas the issues that are covered by the collective bargaining agreement are resolved by litigation.
d. The decision given by an arbitrator is not binding on either of the party but the decision of litigation is binding on both the parties.

13. True or False:In interpreting the labor agreement, the arbitrator is limited to the words of the contract and cannot take into consideration past practices.

14. True or False:An individual is precluded from suing under the civil rights laws if his/her claim has gone through arbitration under the collective bargaining agreement.

15. True or False:Both labor and management have to pay arbitration fees.

Part B - Case Analysis (This is worth 70% of the test grade.)

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Contract Provisions

Article III - Management Rights

The Company also has the right to establish and require employees to observe company rules and regulations, lay off or relieve employees from duties, to maintain order, and to suspend, demote, discipline, and discharge employees for just cause in line with this Agreement.

First Violation of These Rules = Discharge

1. Theft or misappropriation of any property or money of employees or the Company

Facts of the Case

The grievant reported to work more than an hour after commencement of his shift. He informed his supervisor that he had stopped by the residence of a friend the night before to watch a basketball game and had overslept, making him late for work. About noon that day, the supervisor was leaving for lunch when he noticed an orange ladder in the back of the grievant's pickup truck that appeared to be a company ladder. He reported this to the human resources manager, and they decided to investigate. They went to the grievant's truck and confirmed that, indeed, it was a company-labeled ladder. They checked with the guard station to determine whether the grievant had obtained a property removal authorization pass granting him permission to take the ladder off company premises. The guards confirmed that the grievant had not presented them with any such pass. The union vice president was summoned to the scene and was told they were concerned that the grievant might be planning to steal the ladder. The union vice president suggested that they should wait and see whether the grievant actually left the company's premises with the ladder before reaching any conclusions.
The grievant did, in fact, leave with the ladder at approximately 3:30 p.m. The grievant does not dispute the fact that he had never obtained a signed authorization pass to remove the ladder from the facility. The grievant returned the ladder to the company facility at 5:40 p.m. that same day. It was discovered in later discussions that the grievant had originally taken this ladder, without proper written authorization, approximately four months earlier. The grievant said he intended to return it sooner, but it was stored at his home and he was prevented from going on that property due to a court order connected to divorce proceedings. The grievant indicated that his supervisor had given him verbal permission to take the ladder. Witnesses testified that it was common practice for employees to borrow articles from the company merely by obtaining a supervisor's verbal permission. The grievant's supervisor acknowledged that he did tell the grievant he could take the ladder, but only if he got an authorization slip. The company said the grievant knew the policy because he had obtained written permission several times previously.

Unconvinced by the grievant's explanations, the company ultimately came to the conclusion that the grievant intended to steal the ladder and he was terminated. Subsequently,in light of the grievant's 24 years of service with the company, the termination was changed to a six-month suspension without pay which amounted to approximately $40,000. The grievant appealed.

Analysis

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As the arbitrator, what would you decide and why?

____ Content (90%)

___ Authorization/framework for the decision is given.(5)
___ Key concepts are expertly defined.(10)
___Each side's point of view is addressed in the rationale.(70)
___ Decision is complete and clear.(5)

____Presentation (10%)

___Short introduction gives the purpose and agenda for the response.(2)
___Writing is clear and clean.(5)
___ Short summary recaps the key points.(1)
___ APA is used for in-text and end referencing.(2)