Employee Relations and Labor Law Compliance
This section covers Employee Relations and Labor Law Compliance. The exam tests discipline, investigations, retaliation, leave, safety, immigration, and union rights. Expect fact patterns where one wrong step creates legal exposure.
Core rules
- At-will employment is the default in most U.S. states, subject to statutory exceptions such as discrimination, retaliation, and public policy, and to contracts.
- Title VII covers 15+ employees and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. ADEA covers age 40+ at 20+ employees. ADA covers disability at 15+. FMLA covers 50+ employees within 75 miles and gives 12 weeks unpaid leave to eligible employees with 12 months and 1,250 hours.
- NLRA Section 7 protects concerted activity for union and nonunion employees. Weingarten rights apply in unionized workplaces during investigatory interviews.
- WARN requires 60 days' notice for covered mass layoffs and plant closings.
- I-9 verifies identity and work authorization; do not accept expired documents or over-document.
- Run investigations promptly, impartially, and confidentially: intake, plan, interview, collect evidence, decide, act, follow up, and document. Prevent retaliation.
Worked example
An employee reports harassment by a supervisor. HR should take the complaint, assess immediate safety, select a trained impartial investigator, interview the complainant, accused, and witnesses, review messages, and keep information need-to-know. If substantiated, apply consistent discipline; if not, document the basis. Reassigning the complainant against their will can look retaliatory. Follow up to confirm no retaliation.
Traps
Retaliation; denying FMLA because the employee did not say "FMLA"; treating contractors as employees; missing stricter state or local law; and documenting only after litigation starts.