QuestionUnit 1 assessmentQuestion 1

Tip: You do not have to summarize every statement from the original passage; just summarize the key points.

Passage 1:

Regardless of the nature of the hazard, disasters will continue to challenge court managers for many years to come. Court managers must consider a range of complex issues, from the physical design of courthouses (Daniels, 2002; Griebel & Phillips, 2001) to the physical safety of its employees and to the structure of data and communications systems and their ability to function in a disaster, to policies that balance public access with security needs. Planning and training needs will become more urgent and more specialized.

While the probability of any event hurting any one courthouse at one particular time is small, it is important to consider such hazards as what have come to be known as low-probability, high-consequence events, the effects of which are so grave that planning for even unlikely events is necessary. The specific type of event is less important for planning purposes than the possibility that some sort of damaging event might happen. The probability of risk of such an event is something that generally cannot be changed, but the risks posed by such events are susceptible to change through careful management and decision making.

Birkland, T. A., & Schneider, C. A. (2007). Emergency management in the courts: Trends after September 11 and Hurricane Katrina. Justice System Journal, 28(1), 23.

Passage 2:

“A fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay.” But what is “fair”? The law does not resolve the question of what is fair pay or impose a general requirement that employees be paid fairly. Instead, employers are prohibited from paying below certain legislatively determined minimum levels of pay and from discriminating in pay. The law has even less to say about what is a fair amount of work time and effort. Rather than regulate hours directly, U.S. employment law affects work hours primarily by requiring premium pay for overtime work and by restricting the work hours of minors.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes a federal minimum wage and requires premium pay for overtime work. It also sets out certain work-hour limitations for minors. The FLSA’s main requirements are straightforward. The law’s complexity derives from problems in applying its general provisions to the enormous variety that exists among workplaces.

Walsh, D.J. (2010). Employment law for human resource practice. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.