Free PHR Practice Questions

Question 1

A DOL wage and hour citation was issued regarding the corporate headquarters’ temporary lactation accommodations. While the primary wellness room was undergoing renovations, a returning salaried financial analyst was assigned a private, locked single-stall executive restroom to express breast milk. The facility has 450 employees. To resolve the citation and achieve compliance, what must you provide?

Accepted Answer

A designated space that is shielded from view, free from intrusion, and explicitly not a bathroom.

Answer

The installation of a dedicated refrigerator for milk storage and a sink within the temporary space.

Answer

Guaranteed paid break time for the pumping sessions since the analyst holds an exempt classification.

Answer

Formal documentation of an interactive process under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act approving the setup.

Question 2

With 72 hours until a critical cloud infrastructure migration, a Senior DevOps Engineer who left 14 months ago for active military service just applied for reemployment following an honorable discharge. The fully remote company scaled from 95 to 140 employees during this absence, and the department recently adopted new proprietary tools. Which TWO actions are required under federal law?

Accepted Answer

Reinstate the individual into the position they would have reasonably attained had they remained continuously employed.; Provide necessary retraining at the company’s expense to qualify the individual for the updated cloud architecture systems.

Answer

Reinstate the individual into the position they would have reasonably attained had they remained continuously employed.

Answer

Mandate the completion of a standard probationary period due to the significant changes in the team structure.

Answer

Provide necessary retraining at the company’s expense to qualify the individual for the updated cloud architecture systems.

Answer

Delay the reemployment effective date until after the migration window to prevent disruption to the critical infrastructure.

Question 3

You are auditing federal compliance for a community college with 850 employees. You are reviewing the display requirements for the Family and Medical Leave Act notice and the Fair Labor Standards Act notice. What are the KEY differences in the posting rules for these laws? (Select TWO).

Accepted Answer

Unlike the FLSA notice, the FMLA poster must be placed where it can be readily seen by both current employees and job applicants.; Unlike the FLSA notice, the FMLA general notice must also be included in the employee handbook or distributed directly to new hires.

Answer

Unlike the FLSA notice, the FMLA poster must be placed where it can be readily seen by both current employees and job applicants.

Answer

Unlike the FMLA notice, the FLSA poster must be translated into multiple languages if the college receives federal grant funding.

Answer

Unlike the FLSA notice, the FMLA poster is only required in campus facilities where staff currently meet the hours-worked threshold.

Answer

Unlike the FLSA notice, the FMLA general notice must also be included in the employee handbook or distributed directly to new hires.

Question 4

During an audit of recent medical claims, the benefits team noticed a discrepancy in how certain procedures are covered. Routine mammograms are covered at 100 percent without employee cost-sharing. However, post-mastectomy reconstructive surgeries are subjected to standard plan deductibles. What explains this difference in benefit administration?

Accepted Answer

The ACA mandates first-dollar coverage for preventive screenings, whereas the WHCRA mandates reconstructive coverage but permits standard cost-sharing.

Answer

The ADA requires employers to fully fund diagnostic testing, whereas ERISA permits self-funded plans to impose deductibles on surgical interventions.

Answer

The GINA regulations prohibit cost-sharing for genetic cancer screenings, whereas the FMLA requires employees to pay deductibles during medical leave.

Answer

The HIPAA privacy rules classify screenings as essential health benefits, whereas the ACA permits carriers to categorize reconstructive surgery as elective.

Question 5

Two active federal agreements are held by a 285-person logistics firm. Agreement Alpha is a $40,000 contract to supply materials to the Veterans Affairs department. Agreement Beta is a newly signed $120,000 contract providing transportation services to the Department of Defense. Based on Executive Order 11246, which TWO statements correctly distinguish the compliance obligations for these contracts?

Accepted Answer

Agreement Beta mandates the development of a written Affirmative Action Program within 120 days, while Agreement Alpha alone does not trigger this requirement.; Both agreements require the organization to include an Equal Opportunity clause and state in employment advertisements that all qualified applicants will receive consideration.

Answer

The firm must file an EEO-1 report exclusively detailing the demographic makeup of the employees directly supporting Agreement Beta.

Answer

Only Agreement Beta requires the organization to explicitly prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Answer

Agreement Beta mandates the development of a written Affirmative Action Program within 120 days, while Agreement Alpha alone does not trigger this requirement.

Answer

Both agreements require the organization to include an Equal Opportunity clause and state in employment advertisements that all qualified applicants will receive consideration.

Question 6

You are auditing compliance records for a 590-employee regional medical center. Two employees separated yesterday. A registered nurse resigned after exactly four years of employment. A clinical technician was terminated after exactly six months of employment. What is the KEY difference in how you must calculate the federal Form I-9 retention period for these two former employees?

Accepted Answer

The nurse’s document must be retained for one year from their separation date, whereas the technician’s document must be retained until three years from their original date of hire.

Answer

The nurse’s document must be retained for three years from their separation date, whereas the technician’s document must be retained for one year from their original date of hire.

Answer

Both documents must be retained for exactly three years from their respective separation dates to comply with uniform federal recordkeeping standards.

Answer

The nurse’s document can be purged immediately because they exceeded three years of continuous service, whereas the technician’s document requires a one-year retention.

Question 7

Annual EEO metrics at a 610-employee federal contractor reveal a disparity. Female applicants pass a screening test at 65 percent the rate of males. Separately, compliance notes the engineering staff has fewer females than local market availability. What distinguishes how HR addresses these findings?

Accepted Answer

The test disparity requires validating the assessment for job relatedness, while the staffing shortfall requires establishing placement goals and targeted recruitment outreach.

Answer

The test disparity requires immediate elimination of the assessment, while the staffing shortfall requires establishing mandatory hiring quotas to achieve parity.

Answer

The test disparity triggers an automatic EEOC compliance audit, while the staffing shortfall requires submitting a revised EEO-1 report to the Department of Labor.

Answer

The test disparity constitutes disparate treatment requiring disciplinary action for recruiters, while the staffing shortfall represents disparate impact requiring a compensation analysis.

Question 8

A performance module upgrade triggered an appraisal audit. The HRIS administrator reports 12 employees on intermittent FMLA received downgraded scores. The log shows ratings were penalized for missing gross production volume targets during approved absences. What is the compliance failure?

Accepted Answer

FMLA interference through unadjusted production quotas

Answer

Title VII disparate impact discrimination

Answer

Failure to accommodate essential functions under the ADA

Answer

Misapplication of FLSA non-exempt performance metrics

Question 9

To enhance a customer service onboarding module for an 850-employee restaurant group, the training manager plans to embed a 10-minute clip from a recently released, commercially available documentary into the Learning Management System. All newly hired servers will be required to watch the clip and pass a quiz before their first floor shift. What is the most appropriate directive regarding the use of this material?

Accepted Answer

Secure written permission or a commercial license from the copyright holder before uploading the clip to the platform.

Answer

Proceed with uploading the clip under the fair use doctrine since the material is being used strictly for internal educational purposes.

Answer

Add a visible citation and copyright attribution watermark to the video file before assigning it to the new hires.

Answer

Purchase a single authorized digital copy of the documentary and stream it directly through the platform to prevent unauthorized downloading.

Question 10

Even in non-union environments, the National Labor Relations Board holds primary jurisdiction to investigate unfair labor practice charges. This occurs when employees allege they were retaliated against for:

Accepted Answer

discussing compensation with coworkers.

Answer

reporting minimum wage violations to the government.

Answer

filing formal complaints about gender-based pay disparities.

Answer

refusing to perform tasks presenting an imminent physical danger.

Question 11

An analysis of the previous performance management cycle revealed that managers were setting vague targets. Which goal-setting framework requires pairing one qualitative directional statement with three to five quantitative metrics?

Accepted Answer

Objectives and Key Results

Answer

Management by Objectives

Answer

Key Performance Indicators

Answer

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales

Question 12

The finance department requests a projection for the number of recruiters needed for the upcoming fiscal year. They provide a historical metric showing that the organization typically requires one recruiter for every 40 annual hires. Which forecasting method is the team applying?

Accepted Answer

Ratio analysis

Answer

Trend analysis

Answer

Delphi technique

Answer

Nominal group technique

Question 13

Two lawsuits have been filed against a community foundation. A former grant administrator alleges age discrimination, while a donor claims the volunteer board mismanaged restricted funds. What is the PRIMARY distinction in how the organization’s liability insurance policies respond?

Accepted Answer

The employment claim triggers Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI), whereas the donor claim triggers Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance.

Answer

The discrimination claim falls under Fiduciary Liability coverage, whereas the donor claim is covered by standard Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies.

Answer

Both claims trigger Errors and Omissions (E&O) coverage, but the employment claim requires a specific rider for administrative personnel.

Answer

Both claims are covered by Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance, provided the termination decision was ratified by the volunteer board.

Question 14

An HRIS offboarding module diagnostic for Q3 shows 42 voluntary terminations. The system recorded 42 automated exit surveys sent, with 8 completed. The same diagnostic shows 40 signed knowledge transfer checklists and 38 exit interviews conducted directly by the departing employees’ direct supervisors. What is the most appropriate process modification to improve exit data validity?

Accepted Answer

Reassign the exit interview responsibility from direct supervisors to HR representatives or a neutral party.

Answer

Withhold final paycheck processing until the automated exit survey is marked complete in the system.

Answer

Merge the knowledge transfer checklist and the exit survey into a single offboarding workflow task.

Answer

Schedule the automated exit surveys to deploy two weeks prior to the projected termination date.

Question 15

EEOC inquiries at a 160-person logistics firm prompted an ATS audit, revealing where applicants stopped but lacking data on why they were rejected. What is the KEY difference between workflow statuses and disposition codes?

Accepted Answer

Operational tracking of a candidate’s current stage relies on workflow statuses, whereas disposition codes provide the specific, job-related justification for non-selection.

Answer

System workflow statuses determine basic qualifications under UGESP, while disposition codes trigger automated rejection emails to unqualified job seekers.

Answer

Pipeline metrics like time-in-stage rely on workflow statuses, whereas disposition codes categorize the demographic data required for adverse impact analysis.

Answer

The final outcome of a requisition is recorded by workflow statuses, but disposition codes map the sequential progression of individuals through screening gates.

Question 16

Three non-exempt quality assurance testers worked 48 hours in a single workweek to support a software launch. The testers earned a promised $500 milestone bonus tied to the launch date. The current payroll draft pays their 8 overtime hours at 1.5 times their standard $25 hourly base rate, plus the flat $500 bonus. What immediate correction must occur before finalizing the payroll?

Accepted Answer

Recalculate the regular rate of pay to include the milestone bonus before computing the overtime premium for the extra hours.

Answer

The draft is compliant as submitted because the bonus is a separate line item that does not alter the base hourly wage.

Answer

Shifting the bonus payment to the subsequent pay period is necessary to prevent compounding the overtime calculation.

Answer

Management should convert the excess hours into compensatory time off since the workers received additional financial incentives.

Question 17

At Valley Health Hospital, a surgical tech received a final warning for documented tardiness. The tech appeals to HR, claiming the discipline is retaliation for a complaint he filed last week on the ethics hotline. He reported the clinical director for bypassing sterilization protocols to accelerate room turnovers. HR verifies the tardiness records are accurate. What is the BEST action to take FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Pause the disciplinary process and launch an investigation into the ethics claim and the consistency of attendance enforcement.

Answer

Uphold the final warning since the attendance violations are factual and unrelated to clinical protocols.

Answer

Transfer the surgical tech to another unit immediately to prevent further friction while reviewing the records.

Answer

Instruct the clinical director to reduce the warning to a verbal coaching to mitigate the appearance of retaliation.

Question 18

An audit of a mentorship initiative at a software firm revealed a compliance issue. The program pairs junior software testers with senior developers to learn advanced scripting and agile management. Program guidelines stipulate that participation is voluntary, involves no productive company work, and must be scheduled outside core hours to prevent sprint disruptions. What administrative change must be implemented to align this program with federal regulations?

Accepted Answer

Non-exempt mentees must be paid for the meeting time because the skills taught are directly related to their current jobs.

Answer

The mentor selection process should be randomized to eliminate potential disparate impact claims under Title VII.

Answer

Participants must sign legally binding waivers acknowledging the sessions are strictly for voluntary career enrichment.

Answer

All mentorship activities must be moved into core working hours to satisfy Equal Pay Act requirements for equitable access.

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