1. Gwen has just been promoted to HR Manager and has no background in that area of the business. She has always been in engineering. Her boss wants her to establish an employee-management committee that he can chair. How would you advise Gwen under those circumstances?

2. Caladonia was interviewing with the HR Manager of an organization she really wanted to work for. The HR Manager told her that “the employer was really good about not laying off workers.” They always found another way to deal with slow periods. Can Caladonia rely on that statement as an oral contract?

3. Alex insists on taking all calls requesting employment verification for former employees. As the HR Manager, he refuses to give any feedback about people who were poor performers, but for those who were good performers, he is willing to explain how well they had done. What do you think of Alex’s approach to employee references?

4. A union contract normally details the process called “progressive discipline.” How would you counsel non-union employers to deal with the process?

5. Seniority will always be the determining factor in a union agreement.

6. A discrimination complaint notice has just arrived from the EEOC. You have 30 days to respond in writing to the Commission. What should you do before submitting your response?

7. Alysse is setting up the human resource systems for her newly formed organization. She wants to write a policy about employment at will but isn’t sure what it is. How would you explain it to her?

8. Elaine has attended an industry meeting with other HR professionals. She came back to her office with the idea that background investigations of new hires is something she ought to implement. What would you say to Elaine about that idea?

9. Dabney is the HR Manager negotiating a renewal of the contract his organization has with an international union. Because the union is international, he isn’t sure if the National Labor Relations Act applies to his situation. What would you tell him?

10. When Barack began his work with the AB Trucking Company, he established a process of sending engagement letters to all his new employees. Is he creating employment contracts by doing so?

11. Collective bargaining agreements are contracts between a union and an employer.

12. Woodrow has been awarded a paid day off because he delivered his product development project ahead of schedule. Does this mean every time someone delivers a job in advance of the deadline they should be given a paid day off?

13. Isabella is sitting at her desk in the HR Department on the first day of a union strike. Pickets have assembled at the front gate and are blocking the sidewalk and not allowing anyone to enter the employer’s property. As the HR Manager, what should Isabella do?

14. Naji is wondering how he is going to describe the difference between his organization’s employee grievance resolution process and the discrimination complaint handling process. What would you suggest?"

15. Dabney is the HR Manager for his employer. He has been asked to write an employee handbook to provide all the organization’s policies in writing. What will employees be able to assume about the handbook policies?

16. When Jacob’s company experienced its first union organizing effort, the union won the election and Jacob was faced with having to negotiate his first union contract. Because it was his first time, what would you recommend Jacob do?

17. Harold has heard that it is necessary to have a diversity management program under some new federal law. What would you tell Harold about that requirement?

18. Olivia believes that it is a good idea to conduct an employee survey each year to get input about employee attitudes. Her Vice President thinks that employee surveys cost too much money and don’t provide much value in the end. What should Olivia tell the Vice President?

19. Emma has never had to manage a union contract before. As the HR Manager, she is involved with the grievance handling process as the third step in the process. At her first meeting with the union steward, the steward began yelling at Emma and telling her what she had to do to satisfy the union in this situation. Emma was stunned. What should she do?

20. Elaine has attended an industry meeting with other HR professionals. She came back to her office with the idea that background investigations of new hires is something she ought to implement. What would you say to Elaine about that idea?

21. Caladonia was interviewing with the HR Manager of an organization she really wanted to work for. The HR Manager told her that “the employer was really good about not laying off workers.” They always found another way to deal with slow periods. Can Caladonia rely on that statement as an oral contract?

22. Gianna has been asked by her boss to develop a program for use of self-directed work teams in their organization. She has limited experience with that form of organization. How would you advise her on her project?

23. Sophia makes it a practice to call each applicant’s former employers to verify employment claims and determine if there were any behavioral problems in prior jobs. Her company is now being sued because a new hire had an automobile accident while on a delivery run. It turned out he had a history of reckless driving charges in his past two jobs. But she wasn’t told about those when she talked with the former employers. Should Sophia be worried?

24. Alex insists on taking all calls requesting employment verification for former employees. As the HR Manager, he refuses to give any feedback about people who were poor performers, but for those who were good performers, he is willing to explain how well they had done. What do you think of Alex’s approach to employee references?

25. Gwen has just been promoted to HR Manager and has no background in that area of the business. She has always been in engineering. Her boss wants her to establish an employee-management committee that he can chair. How would you advise Gwen under those circumstances?