PHRCA Compliance and Risk Management Questions and Answers

Question 1

An employee with a known disability provides a doctor's note requesting a modified work schedule. Under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), what is the employer's IMMEDIATE next step?

Accepted Answer

Engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process with the employee to discuss the request.

Answer

Under FEHA, upon receiving a request for reasonable accommodation, an employer has an affirmative duty to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process with the employee. [6, 14, 18] This is a collaborative effort to explore potential accommodations. [6, 18] Immediately denying the request, demanding an entire medical file, or jumping to an undue hardship analysis without discussion are all violations of this requirement. The first step is always the conversation.

Question 2

A former employee of a company in California submits a written request to inspect their personnel file. According to California Labor Code section 1198.5, what is the maximum amount of time the employer has to make the file available for inspection?

Accepted Answer

30 calendar days

Answer

California Labor Code section 1198.5 specifies that an employer must make personnel files available for inspection within 30 calendar days from the date a written request is received. [15, 28, 33] This deadline can be extended to 35 days only if there is a mutual written agreement between the employer and the requester. [28]

Question 3

Which of the following is a key distinction between the federal WARN Act and the California WARN (Cal-WARN) Act regarding employer coverage?

Accepted Answer

The federal WARN Act only counts full-time employees, while Cal-WARN counts both full-time and part-time employees toward its threshold. [5, 19]

Answer

A significant difference is how employees are counted. The federal WARN Act generally applies to employers with 100 or more full-time employees. In contrast, the Cal-WARN Act applies to employers with 75 or more employees, and it explicitly includes both full-time and part-time employees in that count, making its scope broader. [2, 5, 19]

Question 4

An employer in California is preparing an employee's final paycheck. Which of the following deductions is generally PERMISSIBLE without the employee's written authorization?

Accepted Answer

A legally mandated wage garnishment order from a court.

Answer

California law strictly limits the types of deductions an employer can make from an employee's wages. Deductions required by state or federal law, such as a court-ordered wage garnishment, are permissible. [3, 34] Deductions for cash shortages, breakage, or loss of equipment due to simple negligence are generally not allowed, as these are considered a cost of doing business. [3, 29, 34]

Question 5

A California employer with 25 employees must provide harassment prevention training. What are the minimum required training durations for non-supervisory and supervisory employees, respectively?

Accepted Answer

1 hour for non-supervisory, 2 hours for supervisory.

Answer

Under California law (SB 1343), employers with five or more employees must provide harassment prevention training every two years. The requirement is at least one hour of training for all non-supervisory employees and at least two hours for all supervisory employees. [22, 35, 38]

PHRca - Professional in Human Resources - California Practice Test

PHRca - Professional in Human Resources - California Practice Test

PHRCA Compliance and Risk Management Questions and Answers