Ch 14. Fair Labor, Family Medical Leave, Residency, Drug Testing, Electronic Monitoring, Digital Imagery, and Social Networking

Question 1

___ was originally passed to address concerns over minimum wage, maximum hours, overtime, and child labor. (456)

Answer 1

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Question 2

Enforcement of the FLSA is the responsibility of ___. (456)

Answer 2

the United States Department of Labor (DOL)

Question 3

Individuals are considered to be ___ if they receive no compensation or are paid only for expenses, reasonable benefits or a nominal fee. (457)

Answer 3

volunteers

Question 4

A ___ is generally defined as not exceeding 20% of the wages paid to a full-time person performing the same services in the area, and cannot be directly tied to time spent or productivity. (457)

Answer 4

nominal fee

Question 5

The FLSA definition of employee does not include people who ___. (457)

Answer 5

volunteer their services

Question 6

The ___ applies to any personnel engaged in “fire protection activities” for a public employer and says that they are entitled to OT only if their average weekly hours exceed 212 hours in a 28-day period. (458)

Answer 6

firefighter’s exception, or the “7(k) exception”

Question 7

A state, a political subdivision of a state, or an interstate governmental agency. (460)

Answer 7

A public agency

Question 8

The FLSA provides an exemption from the overtime requirements for employees who are engaged in ___ capacity. (461)

Answer 8

an executive, administrative or professional

Question 9

___ are those involved in the overall management of the business. (461)

Answer 9

Executive employees

Question 10

___ are those working in non-manual jobs that involve the exercise of discretion and independent judgment. (461)

Answer 10

Administrative personnel

Question 11

___ are highly skilled employees, such as attorneys, doctors, and engineers, whose work is primarily intellectual in nature. (461)

Answer 11

Professionals

Question 12

Under FLSA, ___ are ignored when calculating hours worked by firefighters. (473)

Answer 12

substitutions and early reliefs

Question 13

Public safety workers, including firefighters, may accrue a maximum of ___ hours of comp time, while non-public safety personnel are limited to ___ hours. (475)

Answer 13

480 hours; 240 hours

Question 14

Upon termination of employment, an employee with accred comp time must be paid for any unused comp time at a tare not less than either ___. (475)

Answer 14

A) the average wage she received during the preceding three years or
B) her final regular wage

Question 15

Employers must keep FLSA-required records for ___ for all employees who work under the wage and overtime requirements of the FLSA. (476)

Answer 15

3 years

Question 16

The ___ division of the U.S. Department of Labor enforces the FLSA. (476)

Answer 16

Wage and Hour

Question 17

Normally, claims for violations of the FLSA are subject to a ___ statue of limitations. (476)

Answer 17

2 year

Question 18

If the DOL or the claimant employee can prove a willful or reckless violation, the statute of limitations is extended to ___. (476)

Answer 18

3 years

Question 19

The ___ was intended to protect workers who need to take time off for certain family or personal medical conditions, without risking the loss of their jobs. (477)

Answer 19

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), provides up to 12 weeks unpaid leave per year

Question 20

In order to be eligible for FMLA coverage, an employee must have worked for the employer for at least ___, and worked at least ___. (477)

Answer 20

12 months, and worked at least 1250 hours over the preceding 12 months. (FLSA principles used to determine compensable hours worked)

Question 21

Any leave that is for birth and care of a child, or placement for adoption or foster care, cannot be taken after ___ of the birth or placement. (477)

Answer 21

12 months

Question 22

___ is where a person has a residence with intent to reside permanently. (487)

Answer 22

Domicile

Question 23

Drug testing is considered to be ___ , and in order to be upheld, the testing must be reasonable.

Answer 23

a Fourth Amendment search

Question 24

The Supreme Court identified 3 factors that must be considered when determining the reasonableness of drug tests: (488)

Answer 24

1) the nature of the privacy interest that the search impacts
2) the extent to which the search intrudes on the employee’s privacy
3) the importance of the governmental interest, along with the ability of the procedure used to address that concern

Question 25

3 groups of legal problems associated with on-duty use of cameras: (497)

Answer 25

1) cameras capture things that may be embarrassing, a breach of privacy/confidentiality, or illegal.
2) cameras capture things that may be relevant to a legal proceeding and as such constitute evidence.
3) When a public employee takes a photo or video in the course of his work, the imagery is a public record.

Question 26

___ is the destruction or loss of evidence that is relevant to a legal proceeding. (499)

Answer 26

Spoliation of evidence

Question 27

For a [digital imagery] policy to be effective, it must be __3__. (500)

Answer 27

1) well researched
2) well written
3) most of all, reasonable for the department

Question 28

4 areas that should be addressed by a digital imagery policy: (500)

Answer 28

1) Taking of images (who can take them)
2) Proper handling of all images that are taken
3) Ownership of the images (department should assert ownership)
4) Procedure for personnel to obtain copies of images

Question 29

Among the biggest concerns that the social media policy must address is that personnel avoid becoming viewed by the public or the media as ___. (502)

Answer 29

a spokesperson for the fire department