Law Legal Studies

Labour and Industrial Relations

1,497 Questions

Labour and Industrial Relations involves the study of employment laws, workers unions, and workplace dynamics. This page features practice questions on critical topics such as equal pay, gratuity, overtime, and labor disputes. These questions are essential for law entrance exams and competitive tests.

Employment contractsTrade unionsWage discriminationIndustrial disputesOvertime payWorkplace safety

Labour and Industrial Relations Questions

Multiple choice

The work was hard ______ wages were high.

  1. though

  2. yet

  3. but

  4. in spite of
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The correct answer is 'but' because it shows contrast between the two clauses - hard work (negative) and high wages (positive). 'Though' and 'yet' would require different sentence structures, while 'in spite of' is a preposition that cannot join independent clauses.

Multiple choice

Administrative Tribunals entertain those employees who are under employment with _________.

  1. union or state government

  2. a local or other authority within the territory of India

  3. a corporation owned or controlled by the government

  4. all of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Administrative Tribunals established under Article 323A have jurisdiction over disputes related to recruitment and service conditions of persons appointed to public services/posts under the Union, State governments, local authorities, and government corporations within India's territory.

Multiple choice

Directions: For this question, select the best of the answer choices given.

Firms adopting “profit-related-pay” (PRP) contracts pay wages at levels that vary with the firm's profits. In the metalworking industry last year, firms with PRP contracts in place showed productivity per worker on average 13 percent higher than that of their competitors who used more traditional contracts. If, on the basis of the evidence above, it is argued that PRP contracts increase worker productivity, which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken that argument?

  1. Results similar to those cited for the metalworking industry have been found in other industries where PRP contracts are used.

  2. Under PRP contracts costs other than labor costs, such as plant, machinery, and energy, make up an increased proportion of the total cost of each unit of output.

  3. Because introducing PRP contracts greatly changes individual workers' relationships to the firm, negotiating the introduction of PRP contracts is complex and time consuming.

  4. Many firms in the metalworking industry have modernized production equipment in the last five years, and most of these introduced PRP contracts at the same time.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The argument claims PRP contracts increase productivity based on correlation. Option D most seriously weakens this by introducing a confounding variable: modernization of equipment. If firms modernized equipment AND introduced PRP contracts simultaneously, the productivity gain could be from modernization, not PRP. This is a classic correlation-causation flaw. Option A actually strengthens the claim by showing broader evidence. Option B discusses cost structure but doesn't address productivity causes. Option C talks about implementation complexity, not effectiveness.

Multiple choice

Directions: For this question, select the best of the answer choices given.

Small-business groups are lobbying to defeat proposed federal legislation that would substantially raise the federal minimum wage. This opposition is surprising since the legislation they oppose would, for the first time, exempt all small businesses from paying any minimum wage. Which of the following, if true, would best explain the opposition of small-business groups to the proposed legislation?

  1. Under the current federal minimum-wage law, most small businesses are required to pay no less than the minimum wage to their employees.

  2. In order to attract workers, small companies must match the wages offered by their larger competitors, and these competitors would not be exempt under the proposed laws.

  3. The exact number of companies that are currently required to pay no less than the minimum wage but that would be exempt under the proposed laws is unknown.

  4. Some states have set their own minimum wages—in some cases, quite a bit above the level of the minimum wage mandated by current federal law—for certain key industries.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The puzzle is why small businesses would oppose legislation that exempts them. Option B resolves this: small businesses must match wages offered by larger competitors to attract workers, and larger competitors wouldn't be exempt from the minimum wage increase. This would force small businesses to raise wages anyway to remain competitive, while gaining no benefit from the exemption. Their opposition makes sense as they'd face increased labor costs without any regulatory relief.

Multiple choice

Directions: For this question, select the best of the answer choices given.

Recently a court ruled that current law allows companies to reject a job applicant if working in the job would entail a 90 percent chance that the applicant would suffer a heart attack. The presiding judge justified the ruling, saying that it protected both employees and employers. This use of his court ruling as part of the law could not be effective in regulating employment practices if which of the following were true?

  1. The best interests of employers often conflict with the interests of employees.

  2. No legally accepted methods exist for calculating the risk of a job applicant's having a heart attack as a result of being employed in any particular occupation.

  3. Some jobs might involve health risks other than the risk of heart attack.

  4. Employees who have a 90 percent chance of suffering a heart attack may be unaware that their risk is so great.

  5. The number of people applying for jobs at a company might decline if the company, by screening applicants for risk of heart attack, seemed to suggest that the job entailed high risk of heart attack.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The ruling allows rejecting applicants if there's a 90% heart attack risk. For this to regulate employment effectively, there must be a reliable way to calculate that 90% risk. Option B states that no accepted methods exist for such calculations. Without valid measurement methods, the ruling cannot be applied, making it ineffective in practice.

Multiple choice

Directions: For this question, select the best of the answer choices given.

A discount retailer of basic household necessities employs thousands of people and pays most of them at the minimum wage rate. Yet following a federally mandated increase of the minimum wage rate that increased the retailer's operating costs considerably, the retailer's profits increased markedly. Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox?

  1. Over half of the retailer's operating costs consist of payroll expenditures; yet only a small percentage of those expenditures go to pay management salaries.

  2. The retailer's customer base is made up primarily of people who earn, or who depend on the earnings of others who earn, the minimum wage.

  3. The retailer's operating costs, other than wages, increased substantially after the increase in the minimum wage rate went into effect.

  4. When the increase in the minimum wage rate went into effect, the retailer also raised the wage rate for employees who had been earning just above minimum wage.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The paradox is that profits increased despite higher wage costs. Option B resolves this: the retailer's customers are primarily minimum wage earners. When their wages increased, their purchasing power rose, leading to more sales. This increased revenue outweighed the higher operating costs, resulting in greater overall profits.

Multiple choice

Workman is defined under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 in section

  1. 2 (m)

  2. 2 (r)

  3. 2

  4. 2 (s)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Industrial Disputes Act under section 2 (s) defines a “Workman” as any person (including an apprentice) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment are expressed or implied.

Multiple choice

In recent years, unions have begun to include in their demands at the collective bargaining table requests for contract provisions which give labor an active voice in determining the goals of a corporation. Although it cannot be denied that labor leaders are highly skilled administrators, it must be recognized that their primary loyalty is and must remain to their membership, not to the corporation. Thus, labor participation in corporate management decisions makes about as much sense as __________. Which of the following represents the best continuation of the passage?

  1. allowing inmates to make decisions about prison security

  2. a senior field officer asking the advice of a junior officer on a question of tactics

  3. a university's asking the opinion of the student body on the scheduling of courses

  4. Chicago's mayor inviting the state legislators for a ride on the city's subway system

  5. the members of a church congregation discussing theology with the minister
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

(1) Here we are looking for the most perfect analogy. Keep in mind, first, that the author opposes the move, and second, all of the features of the union-management situation in particular that they are adversaries. (1) captures both elements. The relationship between prison administrators and inmates is adversarial, and the suggestion that inmates make decisions on security is outrageous enough that it captures also the first element.

Multiple choice

In recent years, unions have begun to include in their demands at the collective bargaining table requests for contract provisions which give labor an active voice in determining the goals of a corporation. Although it cannot be denied that labor leaders are highly skilled administrators, it must be recognized that their primary loyalty is and must remain to their membership, not to the corporation. Thus, labor participation in corporate management decisions makes little sense. The author's reasoning leads to the further conclusion that

  1. the authority of corporate managers would be symbolically undermined if labor leaders were allowed to participate in corporate planning

  2. workers have virtually no idea of how to run a large corporation

  3. workers would not derive any benefit from hearing the goals of corporate management explained to them at semiannual meetings

  4. the efficiency of workers would be lowered if they were to divide their time between production line duties and management responsibilities

  5. allowing labor a voice in corporate decisions would involve labor representatives in a conflict of interest
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

(5) The author's reason for rejecting the notion of labor participation in management decisions is that the labor leaders first have a responsibility to the people they represent and that the responsibility would color their thinking about the needs of the corporation. His thinking is reflected in the adage: No man can serve two masters.