Free Professional in Human Resources - California (PHRca) Compliance and Risk Management Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A California employer with 50 employees, including 10 supervisors, must provide mandatory sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training. To comply with state law (SB 1343), what are the minimum training duration requirements?
- 2 hours for all employees annually.
- 1 hour for all employees, 2 hours for supervisors, upon hire only.
- 1 hour for non-supervisory employees and 2 hours for supervisory employees, to be completed every two years. (Correct answer)
- 30 minutes for non-supervisory employees and 1 hour for supervisory employees, every two years.
Correct answer: 1 hour for non-supervisory employees and 2 hours for supervisory employees, to be completed every two years.
California law requires employers with 5 or more employees to provide at least two hours of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment to all supervisory employees and at least one hour of such training to all non-supervisory employees. This training must be provided within six months of hire or promotion and repeated every two years thereafter.
Question 2: An employee at a large tech company in California submits a formal request under the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) to their HR department, asking to know all categories of personal information the company has collected about them. What is the company's primary obligation regarding the timing of its response?
- Provide the requested information within 45 days, with a possible 45-day extension if notice is given. (Correct answer)
- Deny the request, as internal employee data is fully exempt from the CPRA.
- Inform the employee they can only make this request after their employment is terminated.
- Provide the information within 10 business days, as it is considered an urgent personnel matter.
Correct answer: Provide the requested information within 45 days, with a possible 45-day extension if notice is given.
The CPRA extends privacy rights to employee data. When an employee makes a verifiable request to know what personal information an employer has collected, the employer must respond within 45 calendar days. This period can be extended once by another 45 days when reasonably necessary, provided the employee is notified of the extension within the first 45-day period.
Question 3: A company is interviewing candidates for an accounting position in its Los Angeles office. According to the California Fair Chance Act ('Ban the Box'), which of the following actions is permissible?
- Asking about criminal convictions on the initial job application to screen candidates early.
- Inquiring about a candidate's conviction history during the first interview.
- Running a criminal background check on a finalist before making any job offer.
- Making a conditional offer of employment and then conducting a background check. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Making a conditional offer of employment and then conducting a background check.
The California Fair Chance Act prohibits employers with five or more employees from inquiring about a candidate's conviction history, either verbally or on an application, before a conditional offer of employment has been made. Once a conditional offer is extended, the employer may then conduct a background check and perform an individualized assessment if they intend to rescind the offer based on the results.
Question 4: An employee in a California warehouse sustains a minor cut. The shift supervisor, who is trained in first aid, cleans the wound with antiseptic wipes and applies a standard adhesive bandage. The employee immediately returns to their regular duties without any work restrictions. How should this incident be handled for Cal/OSHA recordkeeping purposes?
- It must be recorded on the Cal/OSHA Log 300 because it was a work-related injury.
- It is considered a 'first aid' only incident and is therefore not recordable on the Log 300. (Correct answer)
- It must be reported to the nearest Cal/OSHA district office within 8 hours.
- It must be recorded on the Log 300 only if the employee later visits a doctor for the same injury.
Correct answer: It is considered a 'first aid' only incident and is therefore not recordable on the Log 300.
Cal/OSHA has a specific list of treatments that are considered 'first aid.' Using a non-prescription wound covering, such as a bandage, and cleaning wounds on the surface of the skin are defined as first aid. Injuries that only require first aid are not considered 'recordable' and do not need to be entered on the Cal/OSHA Log 300 of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. Reporting to Cal/OSHA is only required for serious injuries/illnesses like death, amputation, or in-patient hospitalization.
Question 5: A private company headquartered in California had 150 employees throughout the 2025 calendar year. Under California's pay data reporting law (SB 1162), what is the company's primary reporting obligation to the state?
- The company has no reporting obligation as the threshold is 250 employees.
- Submit a pay data report to the Civil Rights Department (CRD) by the second Wednesday of May 2026. (Correct answer)
- Post an EEO-1 report in a conspicuous place for all employees to view.
- Submit a pay data report to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) only.
Correct answer: Submit a pay data report to the Civil Rights Department (CRD) by the second Wednesday of May 2026.
California's SB 1162 requires private employers with 100 or more employees to submit an annual pay data report to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). This report is due on the second Wednesday of May for the prior calendar year. The report must include pay and hours-worked data for employees broken down by gender, race, and ethnicity within specific job categories.
Question 6: Which of the following statements best describes a key feature of a lawsuit filed under California's Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)?
- It is a class-action lawsuit where employees must meet strict certification requirements to proceed.
- The suing employee primarily seeks to recover personal damages like lost wages or emotional distress.
- It is a 'qui tam' style action where an employee sues on behalf of the state to enforce the Labor Code. (Correct answer)
- The employer can require the employee to resolve the PAGA claim through individual arbitration.
Correct answer: It is a 'qui tam' style action where an employee sues on behalf of the state to enforce the Labor Code.
PAGA is unique because it allows an 'aggrieved employee' to step into the shoes of the state's labor law enforcement agencies to sue an employer for civil penalties for Labor Code violations. It is a 'qui tam' action, meaning the employee is suing on behalf of the state. The recovered penalties are shared between the state and the affected employees. The Supreme Court has ruled that PAGA claims cannot be forced into individual arbitration.
