HRCI SPHR Exam Questions

Correct answer: 30 days

The FMLA requires employees to notify their employers at least 30 days before the anticipated start date of the leave if the need for leave is foreseeable. For example, for the birth of a child, adoption, placement of a foster child, or planned medical treatment for a serious health condition. If the start date of the planned leave changes, the employee must notify the employer as soon as practicable.

Correct answer: Tripartite

Arbitration is a means of resolving conflicts without the expense of a lawsuit. There are three types of arbitrators: ad hoc, permanent, and tripartite panel.

• Ad hoc arbitrator: An ad hoc arbitrator hears only that single case/problem.
• Permanent arbitrator: A permanent arbitrator is an individual who is selected to hear any disputes arising among specific parties - they both agree that the arbitrator is fair and impartial.
• Tripartite arbitration panel: A tripartite arbitration panel is a panel that includes three arbitrators who hear the issues and make a joint decision regarding the issue or dispute.

The other three answer choices are all types of arbitration, not arbitrators.

Title III of the CCPA limits the amount of an individual’s earnings that may be garnished, defines disposable earnings, and protects an employee from being fired if pay is garnished for only one debt. 

The CCPA defines earnings as compensation paid or payable for personal services, including wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, and periodic payments from a pension or retirement program.

Title III sets the maximum amount that may be garnished in any workweek or pay period, regardless of the number of garnishment orders received by the employer. For ordinary garnishments (i.e., those not for support, bankruptcy, or any state or federal tax), the weekly amount may not exceed the lesser of two figures: 25% of the employee’s disposable earnings, or the amount by which an employee’s disposable earnings are greater than 30 times the federal minimum wage

Title III also limits the amount of earnings that may be garnished due to court orders for child support or alimony. The garnishment law allows up to 50% of a worker’s disposable earnings to be garnished for these purposes if the worker is supporting another spouse or child, or up to 60% if the worker is not. An additional 5% may be garnished for support payments more than 12 weeks in arrears.

The CCPA does not provide an appeal process for employees and requires employers to includes bonuses and commission payments when calculating disposable earnings.

Correct answer: $8.75 because the higher wage always supersedes the lower

The current federal minimum wage that was set by the FLSA on July 24, 2009, is $7.25. Some states, such as Alaska, New York, and California have set a minimum wage that is higher than the federal minimum wage. In those situations, the state minimum wage supersedes the federal. Many cities like Seattle, Los Angeles, and NYC also have their own minimum wage that is higher than the minimum wage. Whichever minimum wage (federal, state, or local) is the most favorable to the employee is one that must be observed. 

Correct answer: OD interventions

Organizational development, also referred to simply as “OD" uses behavioral, social and psychological science to evaluate an organization's technology, processes, structure, and human resources. Action strategies that are developed to improve the way organizations achieve desired business results are known as organizational development interventions. They may be directed toward structures, processes, technology, individuals, groups, or entire organizations. OD interventions fall into four categories: 

• Strategic interventions: Used to implement changes to the vision, mission, and values of the organization in response to changes in the market. Examples include change management, knowledge management, and learning organizations.
• Techno-structural interventions: Address issues of how the work is performed or accomplished by redesigning the work processes based on the level of employee involvement. Examples include Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma.
• Human process interventions: Directed at developing individual competencies. Examples include team building activities, conflict resolution, and management by objectives.
• Human resource management interventions: Focus on the individuals within the organization. Examples include developing hiring and selection procedures or job design.

Correct answer: When a valid collective bargaining agreement covering a period up to three years exists, it will bar an election for the contract period.

There are some circumstances in which the NLRA will not allow elections and places what is called an "election bar." There are several types of election bars:

• Statutory Bar: A statutory bar occurs when a valid election has occurred within the proceeding 12-month period.
• Contract Bar: A contract bar occurs when there is a valid collective bargaining already in place. An election will be barred for the contract period.
• Blocking Bar: A blocking bar occurs when an unfair labor practice charge is pending.
• Certification-Year Bar: A certification year bars an election for at least one year following union certification.
• Voluntary-Recognition Bar: A voluntary-recognition bar occurs when a union has received voluntary recognition from the employer. An election will be barred for a reasonable period of time to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement.
• Prior-Petition Bar: A prior-petition bar occurs when a previous petition for election was withdrawn by the union. In this case, an election will be barred for 6 months.

Correct answer: Black Belt

The Six Sigma team structure's levels are as follows:

• Quality Leader/Manager: The quality leader's responsibility is to represent the needs of the customer and to increase organizational effectiveness.  The quality leader also reports directly to the CEO or president and is equal to all other direct reports.
• Master Black Belt: Master black belts are generally assigned to a specific area such as HR or to a specific process function like billing. They partner with the process owners to make sure the project stays on the right course.
• Process Owner: Process owners are the highest level individuals responsible for specific operational areas in the organization; depending on the size of the organization their titles could range from Director to Chief.
• Black Belt: Black-belt employees lead quality projects full time until they are complete and coach green belts on their projects.
• Green Belt: Green belts are trained in Six Sigma but maintain their regular work role while spending a portion of their time completing projects.

Correct answer: Employers are required to pay employees during military absences

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects servicemembers’ and veterans’ civilian employment rights. USERRA requires employers to put individuals back to work in their civilian jobs after military service. USERRA also protects servicemembers from discrimination in the workplace based on their military service or affiliation.protects the rights of reservists called to active duty in the armed forces. USERRA applies to all public and private employers in the United States, including the federal government.

Employers must grant a leave of absence for up to 5 years, with the exception of the following types of leave: boot camp, the initial service period, waiting for orders, and annual two-week mandatory training. These activities are protected without limits. The Act does not require employers to pay employees during military absences; however, some employers have established policies to do so.

The other three answer choices are all true statements in regards to USERRA.

Correct answer: An empathy pay increase of 5% that takes Jerry's rate of pay well above the market pay rate

Empathy wages are wages that are paid above market to inspire gratitude and loyalty, while efficiency wages are paid above market to improve recruitment efforts when the job market is competitive. Research has shown that employees who are not star performers and who are more economically disadvantaged are the most likely to appreciate an empathy pay increase and have feelings of appreciation and loyalty.

Correct answer: Dissolving business unit

The WARN Act protects employees during mass layoffs and plant closings and is administered by the Department of Labor. Under this act, workers are entitled to a 60-day notice of a layoff or plant closing except in the case of a faltering company, an unforeseeable business circumstance, or a natural disaster. A dissolving business unit must provide the required 60-day notice to workers.

When developing a training program, being able to determine the best instructional method for the training is important. The three common types of instructional methods include:

1. Passive training methods include training that is conducted in a passive manner. They are instructor focused and require the learner to listen and absorb the information. Passive training methods include lecture, presentation, or conferences.
2. Active training methods include training that focuses on the learning experience of the participant in an interactive format. This can include training methods such as case studies, simulation training, vestibule training, etc.
3. Experiential training methods include training that provides an experience to the learner in real time. This can include training methods such as demonstration, one-on-one training, or performance based training.

Correct answer: Employee surveys

There are many different types of salary surveys to consider when gathering compensation and benefits data. Each of the answer choices represents one of these survey types. The correct answer is employee surveys. An employee survey method uses the internal workforce to gauge employee satisfaction with their pay structures, measure perceptions of pay equity, and identify current workforce needs.

Government surveys are available through the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) which collects, analyzes, and distributes statistical data. Industry surveys collect data about industry-specific compensation. A commissioned survey is one conducted by an outside party who collects and aggregates the data and supplies the results to the organization.

Correct answer: Performance appraisal

Also commonly referred to as a performance review or performance evaluation process, the formal performance appraisal is a process used by many organizations to provide constructive feedback to employees. This process is an open dialogue between the employee and the supervisor which identifies the employee's strengths, areas of opportunity, goals, and opportunities for training and development. When used effectively, the performance appraisal process can support the management of employee performance to ensure success within their role as well as support employee engagement.

Correct answer: Predisposition

There are four levels of evaluation identified by Donald Kirkpatrick in the summative training model. These include:

• Reaction: The reaction evaluation method surveys or otherwise measures participant's initial reactions to the training.
• Learning: The learning evaluation method tests participants to determine if (or to what extent) they learned the information that was presented.
• Behavior: The behavior evaluation method is used to measure participants' job performance six weeks to six months after the training in order to determine whether or not the training improved the behaviors that lead to positive performance outcomes.
• Results: The results evaluation method collects feedback on how the program impacted business outcomes.

Correct answer: Yes, because dismissal for just cause is an exemption under ADEA

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 prohibits discrimination against persons 40 years of age or older in employment activities, but there are also some exemptions. One exemption is that an employee of any age may be dismissed for just cause or disciplinary misconduct, as long as it does not relate solely to their age.

Correct answer: Fifth

Follow-up inspections are given fifth priority by OSHA.

OSHA has an established hierarchy of situations to outline inspection priorities, which is outlined below: 

1. Imminent danger: There is a reasonable certainty that immediate death or serious injury from existing workplace hazards will occur before normal enforcement procedures can take place.
2. Catastrophes and fatal accidents: Employers must report fatal accidents or serious injuries resulting in the hospitalization of three or more employees within 8 hours. OSHA will inspect to determine whether any safety violations contributed to the accident.
3. Complaints and referrals: Employees may request inspections when they think violations exist that threaten physical harm; OSHA also investigates referrals about hazards from any other source.
4. Programmed high-hazard inspections: Based on statistical analysis, OSHA conducts planned inspections of industries or jobs that have high incident rates for death, injury, and illness.
5. Follow-up inspections: CSHOs follow up on previously issued citations to ensure that the employer has taken action to correct the violation.

Correct answer: The cost of adopting new technology

The best answer is to determine how the cost of new technology aligns with the organization's ability to compete within the industry. As technology changes it is important to analyze the cost of the technology, but also the cost (time) of the implementation, the training on the new technology, as well as consider any security risks or concerns.

Correct answer: Job requisition

Once the need for a new position has been identified, the common process is for the manager of the department to submit a formal job requisition to HR. With this request, HR will then confirm the position is approved internally (budget, leadership, etc.). From this point, most often, HR will proceed with the posting of the position via the various recruiting sources used by the organization.

Correct answer: The company may be fined up to $10,000 and face criminal prosecution, and the company will have to pay back wages for unpaid overtime, if applicable.

The FLSA requires non-exempt employees to be paid at least minimum wage and to receive an overtime premium payment on all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. 

Employers who misclassify employees by mistake and correct the error promptly when they are first made aware of the error are considered to be making a good-faith effort to correct the issue and will not be penalized. 

Employers who deliberately violate the FLSA may face criminal charges and up to a $10,000 fine for the first conviction and imprisonment for a second conviction.

The least expensive option for employers who are found to owe back wages is to allow the DOL to supervise the payment of back wages. Alternatives include various forms of litigation.

Correct answer: Coercive conduct

In 2016, unfair labor practices (ULP) were filed against McDonald's Corporation, and it's franchisees. In this decision, the NLRB found claims of ULP's resulting in a settlement of $3.75M.

It is illegal and coercive to treat employees negatively for engaging in legal union activities or interest in a union, which is a protected activity. This includes threats, surveillance, interrogations and other unethical behaviors.

Employer unfair labor practices defined by the NLRA include:

1. Interfere with, restrain, or coerce unionization efforts
2. Dominate or assist a labor organization
3. Discriminate against NLRB activity
4. Refuse to bargain in good faith
5. Enter into a hot-cargo agreement