20 Employment & Labor Law Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. A private company employs 17 people. An HR coordinator is checking, on head count alone, which federal employment laws reach the company. Which statute's employee-count threshold does this company meet?

   • A.The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which applies from 20 employees upward
   • B.The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which applies from 100 upward
   • C.The Family and Medical Leave Act, which applies from 50 employees upward
   • D.Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which applies from 15 employees upward✓ Answer

   Each statute writes its own coverage threshold, and Title VII's is the lowest of the four: an employer is covered once it reaches 15 employees. With 17 employees the company falls under Title VII but is still below the ADEA's 20, the FMLA's 50 and WARN's 100.

   Source: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employer definition (15 or more employees); HRCI aPHR Exam Content Outline, Compliance & Risk ManagementReport a problem with this question

2. 2. An employer wants to require a physical examination of candidates for a warehouse job. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, when may the employer lawfully require that examination?

   • A.Only after the new hire finishes the introductory period and asks for an accommodation
   • B.At any stage of recruiting, as long as the results are kept in a confidential medical file
   • C.After a conditional job offer, if all entering employees in that category are examined✓ Answer
   • D.In the first screening interview, if the examination relates to essential job functions

   The ADA splits hiring into stages: before a conditional offer the employer may not ask disability-related questions or require medical examinations at all, and after the offer it may, provided the same examination is required of everyone entering that job category and the records are kept confidential and separate.

   Source: Americans with Disabilities Act, Title I; EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Preemployment Disability-Related Inquiries and Medical ExaminationsReport a problem with this question

3. 3. A new hire offers a driver's licence and an unrestricted Social Security card to complete Form I-9, but the hiring manager would rather see a passport. What does the Immigration Reform and Control Act require?

   • A.The employer must accept documents from the official lists that reasonably appear genuine✓ Answer
   • B.The employer must obtain one document that proves both identity and work authorisation
   • C.The employer may name the document it prefers as long as it does so for every new hire
   • D.The employer may reject them and require verification through a federal electronic system

   The employee chooses which acceptable documents to present, either one from List A or a combination of one from List B and one from List C. Telling the employee which document to bring, or demanding extra documents, is an unfair documentary practice even when the employer applies it to everyone.

   Source: Immigration Reform and Control Act; USCIS Form I-9 instructions and unfair documentary practices provisionsReport a problem with this question

4. 4. A woman and a man hold jobs requiring equal skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions at the same establishment, and the man is paid more. Under the Equal Pay Act, what can make that difference lawful?

   • A.The gap rests on the higher cost of recruiting into the man's original department
   • B.The gap rests on the different salaries each employee accepted at the time of hire
   • C.The gap rests on a seniority system, a merit system, or a factor other than sex✓ Answer
   • D.The gap rests on the two employees carrying different job titles and pay grades

   The Equal Pay Act allows a pay difference only under four affirmative defences: a seniority system, a merit system, a system measuring quantity or quality of production, or any factor other than sex. Job titles and the salary someone negotiated are not defences, because the law compares actual job content.

   Source: Equal Pay Act of 1963 (amending the Fair Labor Standards Act), four affirmative defensesReport a problem with this question

5. 5. A 55-year-old applicant is rejected, and the hiring manager's notes say the team wants someone with more energy for the long haul. Which federal law is most directly implicated?

   • A.Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which counts age among the classes it protects
   • B.The Americans with Disabilities Act, because age-related limits count as impairments
   • C.The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, which governs how applicants are screened
   • D.The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which protects workers who are 40 or older✓ Answer

   The ADEA is the statute that makes age a protected characteristic, and it protects applicants and employees who are 40 or older; Title VII's protected classes are race, colour, religion, sex and national origin, and age is not among them. The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act amends the ADEA but deals with benefits and waivers of age claims, not screening.

   Source: Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (protects individuals age 40 and older); EEOCReport a problem with this question

6. 6. An applicant mentions during an interview that she is pregnant, and the company then drops her from consideration. Which law makes that decision unlawful, and why?

   • A.The Family and Medical Leave Act, since the company is denying her future leave rights
   • B.Title VII as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, since pregnancy bias is sex bias✓ Answer
   • C.The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, since pregnancy is family medical data
   • D.The Americans with Disabilities Act, since pregnancy is classified as a covered disability

   The Pregnancy Discrimination Act amended Title VII's definition of sex so that discrimination because of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions is discrimination because of sex. Pregnancy by itself is not a disability, and the FMLA governs leave for eligible employees rather than hiring decisions.

   Source: Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, amending Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964Report a problem with this question

7. 7. An employer requires every applicant for an office job to pass a heavy lifting test. The rule is applied to everyone, yet far fewer women pass it, and lifting is not part of the job's duties. What does this best illustrate?

   • A.A bona fide occupational qualification, a narrow defence tied to business necessity
   • B.Disparate treatment, in which an employer applies a rule differently to a protected group
   • C.Disparate impact, where a neutral requirement screens out a protected group more often✓ Answer
   • D.Retaliation, in which a selection device punishes applicants who complained before

   Disparate impact arises from a facially neutral practice that falls more harshly on a protected group and cannot be justified as job related and consistent with business necessity; no intent to discriminate is required. Disparate treatment, by contrast, requires showing the employer treated the person differently because of a protected characteristic.

   Source: Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures; EEOC guidance on adverse impact and the four-fifths ruleReport a problem with this question

8. 8. An employee with a documented disability asks for a change to her start time so she can attend treatment. What is the employer's first obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act?

   • A.Require her physician to release her complete medical history before any discussion
   • B.Begin an interactive discussion with her about her limits and workable options✓ Answer
   • C.Deny the request if punctual arrival appears anywhere in the job description
   • D.Grant the exact schedule requested, since the request itself proves the need

   A request for accommodation triggers an interactive process in which employer and employee exchange information about the limitation and possible adjustments; the employer may choose among effective options and may refuse only for undue hardship, meaning significant difficulty or expense given its resources. It may seek limited medical information about the limitation, not a full medical file.

   Source: Americans with Disabilities Act, Title I; EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue HardshipReport a problem with this question

9. 9. An at-will employee is fired the day after she refuses her supervisor's instruction to falsify a safety inspection record. Which concept best explains why the discharge may still be unlawful?

   • A.The public policy exception, which bars discharge for refusing to break the law✓ Answer
   • B.The good faith exception, which requires an employer to document every warning given
   • C.The at-will doctrine itself, which permits discharge for any reason at any time
   • D.The implied contract exception, created by a handbook that promises fair treatment

   Employment at will lets either party end the relationship at any time for any lawful reason, but the public policy exception removes reasons society will not tolerate, such as punishing an employee for refusing to commit an unlawful act. The implied contract exception is about promises the employer made, and the good faith exception is about bad-faith motives, not documentation.

   Source: Employment-at-will doctrine and its public policy exception; HRCI aPHR Exam Content Outline, Compliance & Risk ManagementReport a problem with this question

10. 10. Two employees at a company with no union are disciplined after they compared their pay in the break room and jointly complained to their manager. What does the National Labor Relations Act say?

    • A.The employer may bar wage discussion if the rule appears in the employee handbook
    • B.The Act's protections begin only after employees petition for a union election
    • C.Pay discussions are protected only where a collective bargaining agreement covers them
    • D.Their joint complaint is protected concerted activity even with no union present✓ Answer

    Section 7 protects employees who act together for mutual aid or protection about wages, hours and working conditions, and that protection does not depend on a union being present or on any election being filed. A handbook rule that forbids employees to discuss pay is itself likely to be an unfair labor practice.

    Source: National Labor Relations Act, Section 7 (protected concerted activity); National Labor Relations BoardReport a problem with this question

11. 11. A unionised employee is called in to answer questions about missing inventory and reasonably believes discipline may follow. What right does the employee have?

    • A.The employee may bring a private attorney in place of a union representative
    • B.The employer must first tell the employee a representative may be requested
    • C.The employee may refuse to attend until a grievance hearing has been scheduled
    • D.The employee may ask that a union representative attend the interview✓ Answer

    Weingarten rights let a represented employee request a union representative at an investigatory interview the employee reasonably believes may lead to discipline. The right must be asserted by the employee, because the employer has no duty to announce it, and it does not extend to a private attorney or to routine meetings that only communicate a decision already made.

    Source: NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc. (1975); National Labor Relations Act, Section 7Report a problem with this question

12. 12. Which situation creates a notice obligation under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act?

    • A.An employer of 100 workers moves two departments onto a rotating night shift
    • B.An employer of 50 workers replaces a department with an outside vendor's staff
    • C.An employer of 25 workers dismisses 20 of them for documented misconduct
    • D.An employer of 100 workers closes a site, ending the jobs of 50 of them✓ Answer

    WARN reaches employers with 100 or more employees and is triggered by a covered event: a plant closing that causes employment loss for 50 or more workers at a single site, or a mass layoff of the size the statute defines. A schedule change is not an employment loss, and a small employer discharging workers for cause is outside the law entirely.

    Source: Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act; U.S. Department of Labor WARN Act employer guideReport a problem with this question

13. 13. A company's dispute resolution policy offers both mediation and arbitration. What is the essential difference between them?

    • A.A mediator helps the parties reach their own agreement; an arbitrator decides the outcome✓ Answer
    • B.Both processes are advisory, and either party may reject the result and file suit
    • C.Both neutrals issue binding awards, but only arbitration can be ordered by a court
    • D.A mediator decides the outcome, while an arbitrator helps the parties reach an agreement

    Mediation is facilitative: the neutral has no authority to impose anything and the parties keep control of whether they settle. Arbitration is adjudicative: the neutral hears the evidence and issues an award, which in a labour contract is typically the final step of the grievance procedure.

    Source: HRCI aPHR Exam Content Outline, Compliance & Risk Management (alternative dispute resolution); Federal Mediation and Conciliation ServiceReport a problem with this question

14. 14. A payroll clerk asks why a salaried employee whose title is operations manager is still paid overtime. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, what determines exempt status?

    • A.The employee must be paid on a salary basis at the required level and meet a duties test✓ Answer
    • B.The employee must be paid a salary, which by itself removes the overtime obligation
    • C.The employee must supervise at least one other worker and be paid by salary, not hourly
    • D.The employee must hold a management title and receive the same amount each pay period

    A white-collar exemption requires both parts of the test: the employee must be paid on a salary basis at or above the level the Department of Labor sets, and the actual day-to-day duties must fit an exempt category such as executive, administrative or professional. Neither a job title nor the fact of being salaried can create the exemption on its own.

    Source: Fair Labor Standards Act, Section 13(a)(1) white-collar exemptions; U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division Fact Sheet 17AReport a problem with this question

15. 15. A non-exempt employee works 30 hours in the first week of a two-week pay period and 50 hours in the second. How much overtime is owed under federal law?

    • A.No overtime, because the two weeks average out to a standard forty-hour schedule
    • B.Ten hours of overtime, because each workweek stands on its own and cannot be averaged✓ Answer
    • C.Ten hours of overtime, paid at the employee's straight-time rate rather than a premium
    • D.Two hours of overtime, counting only the hours worked beyond eight in a single day

    Federal overtime is computed on a fixed and recurring workweek of seven consecutive days, so hours above forty in that single week trigger the premium and weeks may never be averaged together, even when the pay period covers two of them. Daily overtime after eight hours is a state-law concept, not a federal one.

    Source: Fair Labor Standards Act, Section 7(a) (overtime computed on a workweek basis); U.S. DOL Wage and Hour DivisionReport a problem with this question

16. 16. An employee's spouse loses coverage under the company's group health plan because the couple divorces. Assuming the plan is subject to COBRA, what continuation period applies to that spouse?

    • A.Up to 18 months, the same period that follows a termination of employment
    • B.Up to 12 months, matching the federal family and medical leave entitlement
    • C.None, because a former spouse is no longer a qualified beneficiary of the plan
    • D.Up to 36 months, which applies to divorce and other family qualifying events✓ Answer

    COBRA sorts qualifying events by who loses coverage and why: events tied to the employee's job, such as termination or a cut in hours, give up to 18 months, while family events such as divorce, the employee's death or a child ageing out give the spouse or dependent up to 36 months. The divorced spouse remains a qualified beneficiary with an independent right to elect.

    Source: Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) qualifying events and continuation periods; U.S. DOL Employee Benefits Security AdministrationReport a problem with this question

17. 17. An employee leaves after two years in a 401(k) plan that uses a three-year cliff schedule for employer contributions. What happens to the money in her account?

    • A.She keeps everything, because a cliff schedule vests all balances at plan entry
    • B.She keeps her own deferrals in full and forfeits the employer contributions✓ Answer
    • C.She keeps a prorated share of both her deferrals and the employer contributions
    • D.She forfeits both her own deferrals and the employer contributions on early departure

    Under ERISA an employee's own salary deferrals are always immediately and fully vested, because they are the employee's own money; only employer contributions may be subject to a vesting schedule. A cliff schedule vests nothing until the stated service is completed, so leaving before that point forfeits the employer money entirely.

    Source: Employee Retirement Income Security Act, vesting rules for employer contributions; IRS 401(k) plan guidanceReport a problem with this question

18. 18. An employee has worked 14 months at a site with 200 employees but logged 900 hours in the past 12 months. Is she eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act?

    • A.No, eligibility also requires at least 1,250 hours worked in the previous 12 months✓ Answer
    • B.Yes, because the hours requirement applies only to part-time and seasonal staff
    • C.No, because the worksite must employ 500 or more people within a 75-mile radius
    • D.Yes, because she has more than 12 months of service at a covered worksite

    FMLA eligibility has three conditions that must all be satisfied: 12 months of employment, at least 1,250 hours worked in the 12 months before the leave, and a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Meeting two of the three is not enough, so this employee falls short on hours alone.

    Source: Family and Medical Leave Act, employee eligibility requirements; 29 CFR Part 825Report a problem with this question

19. 19. An employee returns from a period of voluntary military service and asks for his job back. What does the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act require of the employer?

    • A.Reemploy him at his former pay, with his seniority starting over on the return date
    • B.Reemploy him in whatever position is open and for which he is basically qualified
    • C.Reemploy him in the position he would have attained had he stayed employed✓ Answer
    • D.Reemploy him only if the company has 50 or more employees at that work location

    USERRA applies the escalator principle: the returning service member is placed where he would have been on the seniority ladder had the service never interrupted his employment, including the raises and promotions seniority would have brought. The law binds employers of every size and covers voluntary as well as involuntary service.

    Source: Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (escalator principle); U.S. DOL Veterans' Employment and Training ServiceReport a problem with this question

20. 20. A growing company is deciding whether it must offer health coverage under the employer shared responsibility rules of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. What determines whether the rule applies?

    • A.Whether the company averages 50 or more full-time and full-time-equivalent employees✓ Answer
    • B.Whether the company already sponsors a group health plan for any of its personnel
    • C.Whether the company has 20 or more workers, the threshold used for continuation coverage
    • D.Whether most of the personnel request coverage during the open enrollment period

    The shared responsibility provisions attach to an applicable large employer, defined by averaging full-time employees together with full-time equivalents built from part-time hours, and the dividing line is 50. The 20-employee figure belongs to COBRA continuation coverage, and whether a plan already exists does not decide coverage under the rule.

    Source: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, employer shared responsibility (applicable large employer, 50 full-time equivalents); Internal Revenue ServiceReport a problem with this question

Practice questions based on the HRCI aPHR Exam Content Outline and on federal employment law. aPHR and HRCI are marks of the HR Certification Institute; this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by HRCI. Employment law changes and much of it varies by state — this bank tests federal structure and durable HR practice, so confirm the rules in effect where you work, and study the official Exam Content Outline before testing. Based on the HRCI aPHR Exam Content Outline