PHRca CA Employment and Staffing 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: California requires new employers to report newly hired employees to the Employment Development Department (EDD) within how many days of their start date?
- 10 days
- 20 days (Correct answer)
- 30 days
- 45 days
Correct answer: 20 days
California law requires employers to report newly hired or rehired employees to the EDD within 20 days of their start date to facilitate child support enforcement.
Question 2: A California employer conducting an individualized assessment of a criminal conviction must consider all of the following EXCEPT:
- Nature and gravity of the offense
- Time elapsed since the offense or completion of sentence
- Nature of the job sought
- The applicant's current credit score (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The applicant's current credit score
The individualized assessment under the Fair Chance Act focuses on offense nature, recency, and job relatedness — credit score is not a relevant factor in this analysis.
Question 3: Under California law, non-solicitation agreements that prevent former employees from soliciting the company's clients or customers are generally:
- Enforceable if limited to one year
- Unenforceable unless tied to a sale of business (Correct answer)
- Enforceable only for executives
- Fully enforceable with reasonable geographic limits
Correct answer: Unenforceable unless tied to a sale of business
Following recent court interpretations of Section 16600, client non-solicitation clauses are generally unenforceable in California unless they arise from the sale of a business.
Question 4: Which California agency is primarily responsible for enforcing the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) in hiring?
- California Labor Commissioner's Office
- Civil Rights Department (CRD) (Correct answer)
- Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)
- Employment Development Department (EDD)
Correct answer: Civil Rights Department (CRD)
The Civil Rights Department (formerly DFEH) enforces FEHA, which prohibits discrimination in hiring based on protected characteristics.
Question 5: California's FEHA protections in recruitment and hiring apply to employers with how many or more employees?
- 1 or more
- 5 or more (Correct answer)
- 15 or more
- 50 or more
Correct answer: 5 or more
FEHA applies to employers with 5 or more employees, which is a lower threshold than Title VII's 15-employee minimum, providing broader coverage.
Question 6: An employer in California voluntarily participates in E-Verify. Which of the following is true?
- California law prohibits voluntary E-Verify participation for most employers (Correct answer)
- All California employers are required to use E-Verify
- California encourages but does not mandate E-Verify for private employers
- E-Verify participation exempts employers from I-9 requirements
Correct answer: California law prohibits voluntary E-Verify participation for most employers
The California Prohibition on Mandatory E-Verify Act restricts most private employers from voluntarily enrolling in E-Verify except where required by federal law or contract.
Question 7: A staffing agency places temporary workers at a client worksite in California. Under the Labor Code, who bears primary liability for wage payment to the temporary workers?
- The client employer only
- The staffing agency only
- Both the staffing agency and client employer are jointly and severally liable (Correct answer)
- Liability depends solely on the written staffing contract
Correct answer: Both the staffing agency and client employer are jointly and severally liable
California Labor Code Section 2810.3 makes client employers jointly and severally liable with staffing agencies for unpaid wages and certain other violations.
PHRca CA Employment and Staffing 3
California requires new employers to report newly hired employees to the Employment Development Department (EDD) within how many days of their start date?