Q&A Hero

Q: Eva has opened a women's-only health spa. She requires 21 employees and has so far hired 20 employees. Sixteen of the hires are women. Four are men who do overnight custodial and maintenance work when the spa is closed. Eva puts an ad in the paper for a locker room attendant and Jack applies for the job. When Eva tells Jack that she will only hire a woman, Jack sues for discrimination based on sex. Which of the following is true? A. Jack wins under Title VII if he can show that he is capable of doing locker room attendant functions. B. Jack wins because men are under represented at the spa and so affirmative action requires that Eva must hire men to set right the imbalance. C. Eva wins because it is her facility and she can hire and fire whoever she wants. D. Eva wins because it is likely that she can show that being female is a BFOQ for the position. E. Jack wins as this act promotes one gender at the cost of the other which is a case of gender discrimination under Title VII.

Q: Which employers are covered under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act? A. Employers with 15 or more employees B. Government contractors C. Government contractors with 250 employees D. All employers regardless of size or government affiliation E. Private contractors

Q: The Fair Employment Practices Commission has the power to make rules and regulations and hear and decide charges of violations filed by complainants.

Q: State antidiscrimination laws cannot protect categories of persons not stipulated by federal law.

Q: Agreements that mandate binding arbitration of discrimination claims as a condition of employment are concordant with the fundamental principles of antidiscrimination laws.

Q: A typical state act makes it an unfair employment practice for any employer to refuse to hire any individual because of his/her ancestry.

Q: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), compensatory and punitive damages are available for policies that have disparate impact.

Q: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) establishes a federal baseline for protection against employment discrimination based on genetic information.

Q: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) primarily prevents discrimination against individual employees in small businesses.

Q: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) applies to individuals who purchase individual health insurance.

Q: Federal laws concerning equal employment opportunity specifically prohibit state laws from imposing additional duties and liabilities.

Q: The 1991 Civil Rights Act amendments prohibit the setting of quotas in employment.

Q: A successful plaintiff in an Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) action cannot recover money damages from a state entity.

Q: Willful violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act entitle victims to triple damages.

Q: Undue hardship can be a reason for an employer not making reasonable accommodation for disabled employees.

Q: Title VII prohibits discrimination against employees based on their sexual orientation.

Q: Some states have passed laws protecting employees on the basis of sexual orientation; however, none to date have enacted gender identity protections.

Q: Setting a passing score for Asians at 80 out of 100 and a passing score of 60 out of 100 for all other applicants is an example of race norming.

Q: Businesses with fewer than 250 employees and federal contracts under $1 million do not have to prepare written affirmative action plans for hiring women and minorities.

Q: Employers with health or disability plans must cover pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions in the same manner as other conditions are covered.

Q: If the employer stops a pregnant employee from working because the employer truly believes that it is in the best interests of the mother and baby, the employer has not violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act even if the employee is capable and willing to continue working.

Q: Refusing to hire people because of a poor credit rating, when minorities are disproportionately affected, would be an example of disparate impact on race.

Q: Discrimination against vegetarians could result in successful EEOC religious discrimination suits.

Q: EEOC guidelines allow employers to classify jobs as male or female, as well as to have male and female seniority lists.

Q: A charge establishing sexual harassment grounds may exist even if no economic loss is shown.

Q: Under the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, the EEOC can file a civil suit in a federal district court and represent a person charging a violation of the Act.

Q: Even if the plaintiff proves disparate treatment, the defendant can win by showing that all or substantially all members of the plaintiff's class cannot perform the duties of the job.

Q: When enacting the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Congress clearly intended to preempt states' fair employment laws.

Q: In a disparate impact suit, the plaintiff must convince the court that the employer intentionally discriminated against the plaintiff.

Q: The 1991 Civil Rights Act amendments state that the showing of a statistically imbalanced workforce is not enough in itself to establish a violation of Title VII.

Q: The affirmative act of hiring for a discriminatory reason is illegal.

Q: It is not within the rights or authority of shareholders to file global warming related resolutions directing board members or officers to analyze and/or report on environmental issues.

Q: According to the Kyoto Protocol, the United States would be at an economic disadvantage as business production might also relocate in developing countries like China and India, which the Kyoto Protocol does not require to reduce greenhouse gas emission.

Q: The destruction of the world's rainforests is occurring primarily on privately owned land because it is more difficult to enforce the laws in private property ownership cases.

Q: The emissions trading approach to pollution management is a property approach.

Q: Under the Kyoto Protocol, industrialized nations are supposed to lower greenhouse gas emission below 1990 levels.

Q: The increase in global carbon dioxide levels since 1960 is largely due to the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal.

Q: A nationwide Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey found that most people believed that there should be less environmental regulation.

Q: In cases of strict liability tort, finding of fault or failure of reasonable care on the defendant's part is necessary.

Q: Landfills are the primary disposal site for household solid waste, but not business solid waste.

Q: Machinery used in solid waste disposal can be subject to the regulation of the Noise Control Act.

Q: The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act assures proper hazardous waste disposal through the manifold system.

Q: Banks that hold a mortgage on land that turns out to have a toxic waste site subject to the Superfund rules are not liable for the cleanup.

Q: Under the Endangered Species Act, you are in violation if you harass an endangered animal without otherwise causing it, or its habitat, physical harm.

Q: The Endangered Species Act requires courts and regulators to take economic factors into consideration in applying the Act's provisions.

Q: U.S. pesticide companies can sell internationally what they cannot sell in the United States.

Q: Under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the main responsibility for nontoxic waste management rests with federal management.

Q: The point-source approach provides businesses with economic incentives to discover new methods of control.

Q: The EPA does not regulate indoor air pollution under the Clean Air Act.

Q: The prevention of significant deterioration policy is criticized on the grounds that it prevents industry from moving into areas where air quality is cleaner than standards require.

Q: To be considered a point source under the Clean Water Act, the source must itself create pollution.

Q: The Clean Water Act applies to all navigable and nonnavigable waterways within the United States.

Q: All new pollution control rules are now subject to a cost-benefit analysis.

Q: Primary air quality standards are those standards necessary to protect public health.

Q: States bear principal responsibility for devising implementation plans regarding the Clean Air Act.

Q: The Clean Air Act unambiguously bars cost considerations from the air quality standards-setting process.

Q: Scoping encourages impact statements to focus on more substantial environmental concerns and reduce the attention devoted to trivial issues.

Q: NEPA has made it mandatory for federal agencies to follow the conclusions of an EIS.

Q: State EISs have been more successful than their federal counterparts in evaluating complex environmental factors.

Q: Steel and Co. is a smelting plant. Sarah's house is situated located near it. She claims that the fumes from the plant are damaging her rose plants. Under tort law, which action can be brought against Steel and Co.?

Q: Mandy sees a watermelon in Mrs. Brown's garden and immediately wants it. In order to get the watermelon, she crosses Mrs. Brown's yard without her permission. Under tort law, which action can be brought against Mandy?

Q: What problem does the Kyoto Protocol address and what conclusions were reached?

Q: The U.S. federal government is the largest landholder in the country, controlling one-third of the nation's land.

Q: What reforms have been proposed to the Superfund law by the business community?

Q: Who is responsible for control of overall radiation pollution?

Q: What can a private citizen do to force a private polluter to comply with the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts?

Q: James is constructing a boundary wall for his house. A tree blocks the construction. James instructs the construction workers to cut down the tree. The tree is cut and falls on the road, blocking it completely, causing great inconvenience to the people living in the locality. Under the tort law, which action can be brought against James?

Q: Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, what are the obligations of a generator of wastes?

Q: Who are the responsible parties recognized under the Superfund?

Q: What are the different approaches taken by the state and local governments in responding to solid waste disposal problems?

Q: Silas suffers from mesothelioma, a disability directly linked to exposure to asbestos at the power plant that he worked in. The power plant had given no notice to the EPA that it makes use of such a substance as asbestos. Which law has been violated by the power plant where Silas worked?

Q: What is the manifest system that is used by the RCRA for the disposal of hazardous wastes?

Q: Describe the Clean Water Act sequence for cleanup of industrial wastes discharged into rivers and streams.

Q: Which are the acts, apart from the Clean Water Act, related to pollution control which is administered by the EPA?

Q: An organization has set up a turbine farm project near the coast. However, it so happens that the coastal area is one of the principal bird migration corridors. The sound of the turbines is likely to hurt the birds and would destroy their habitat. Which law has been violated by this organization?

Q: Explain how the "prevention of significant deterioration" policy under the Clean Air Act works and why it is criticized by some.

Q: What is "emissions reduction banking" and how is it used?

Q: Why is the permitting process adopted by the Clean Air Act one of the most controversial issues in the area of pollution control?

Q: Shaweey Generating Station discharges more than 3 million gallons of wastewater per day containing manganese, aluminum, boron, and iron in concentrations that frequently exceed the limits that were set by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to protect water quality in the Conemaugh River. It also discharges selenium in excess of permit limits. Selenium can be highly toxic to fish and waterfowl. Which law does Shaweey violate?

Q: What are the responsibilities of the Environmental Protection Agency?