Your FREE aPHR Flashcards 2026 – 100+ Cards

An employment relationship that either party may end at any time for any lawful reason, with or without notice, absent a contract.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 provision barring employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (employers with 15+ employees).

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — the federal agency that enforces anti-discrimination employment laws.

The Americans with Disabilities Act — prohibits disability discrimination and requires reasonable accommodation; covers employers with 15+ employees.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act — protects workers age 40 and older; applies to employers with 20+ employees.

The Family and Medical Leave Act — up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for eligible employees of employers with 50+ employees.

An employee must have worked for the employer 1,250 hours over the prior 12 months, at a worksite with 50+ employees within 75 miles.

The Fair Labor Standards Act — sets minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and child-labor standards.

Premium pay of 1.5 times the regular rate that non-exempt employees must receive for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

A 1963 law requiring equal pay for men and women doing substantially equal work in the same workplace; applies to virtually all employers.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act — bars using genetic information in employment decisions (employers with 15+ employees).

An amendment to Title VII prohibiting discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

A change to a job or workplace that lets a qualified person with a disability (or a religious practice) perform the job, unless it causes undue hardship.

Significant difficulty or expense that excuses an employer from providing an otherwise-required accommodation.

A person who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job they hold or seek.

A significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual or others that cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation.

A narrow exception allowing an employer to hire based on sex, religion, or national origin when it is reasonably necessary to the business.

Intentional discrimination — treating someone differently because of a protected characteristic.

A neutral policy that unintentionally harms a protected group more than others and is not job-related and necessary.

Generally 180 days from the alleged discriminatory act, extended to 300 days where a state or local fair-employment agency applies.

The EEOC's required attempt to resolve a charge voluntarily with the employer after finding reasonable cause, before any lawsuit.

An annual workforce-demographic report (by job category, sex, race, ethnicity) that certain larger employers and federal contractors must file with the EEOC.

A program, often required of federal contractors, to proactively recruit and advance members of underrepresented groups.

The National Labor Relations Act — protects most private-sector employees' rights to organize and bargain collectively (excludes supervisors and managers).

A unionized employee's right to request a union representative at an investigatory interview the employee reasonably believes could lead to discipline.

A state law that prohibits requiring union membership or dues as a condition of employment.

A contract between an employer and a union setting wages, hours, and working conditions.

An employer tactic of temporarily withholding work from bargaining-unit employees to gain leverage — the mirror image of a strike.

A binding final step in many union contracts where a neutral arbitrator hears a dispute over the contract and issues a decision.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration — enforces workplace safety standards.

Requires employers to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm, even without a specific standard.

The record employers use to log work-related injuries and illnesses.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act — requires 60 days' advance notice of a qualifying plant closing or mass layoff (employers with 100+ employees).

Allows shortened notice when a sudden, unexpected event causes the layoff; the employer must still give as much notice as practicable.

A law letting employees and dependents continue group health coverage for a limited period after a qualifying event (generally up to 18 months).

Events such as divorce, death of the covered employee, or a dependent aging out can extend continuation coverage up to 36 months.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act — sets standards for private retirement and welfare plans, including a full and fair claims-review right.

Gives individuals rights over their protected health information and limits its use and disclosure; lets individuals access their records.

Sets administrative, physical, and technical safeguards specifically for electronic protected health information.

Protects the reemployment rights and benefits of employees who leave a civilian job to perform military service.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act requires employers to verify a new hire's identity and work authorization using Form I-9.

Protects whistleblowers and imposes recordkeeping and financial-controls duties on covered (public) companies.

Under the Affordable Care Act employer mandate, a full-time employee averages at least 30 hours of service per week.

A plan focused on restoring IT systems and data after a disruption.

A plan to keep an organization's overall operations functioning during and after a disruption.

A documented set of procedures employees follow during a fire, evacuation, or other emergency.

A mandatory, no-fault insurance program covering medical costs and lost wages for work-related injuries and illnesses.

Classification turns on the economic reality of the relationship — control and economic dependence — not the job title or label.

An adverse action taken against an employee for engaging in a legally protected activity; the most frequently filed EEOC charge.

Legal protection from retaliation for an employee who reports illegal or unsafe conduct to authorities.

A graduated, corrective approach to misconduct: verbal warning, written warning, suspension, then termination.

An informal, documented conversation pointing out an issue and the expected correction — the first progressive-discipline step.

A formal notice recording the problem, the standard, and the consequence of repeating it, creating a documented record.

The shared values, beliefs, and norms that shape how employees behave and interact.

Espoused values are what leaders say the organization stands for; enacted values are what is actually rewarded — a gap erodes trust.

An employee's emotional commitment to and involvement in their work and organization, driving discretionary effort.

A metric of how likely employees are to recommend the organization as a place to work.

A structured survey that measures employees' attitudes about leadership, work, and the organization so HR can act on the results.

Sharing survey results openly and acting on them, which builds trust and signals that employee input is valued.

A conversation with a valued, currently employed staff member, held before any intent to leave, to learn what keeps them.

A conversation with a departing employee to understand why they are leaving and surface fixable drivers of turnover.

The rate at which employees leave an organization and must be replaced.

The full cost of a departure, including recruiting, lost productivity, and onboarding the replacement.

A formal written complaint alleging that a policy, contract, or standard of fair treatment was violated.

A voluntary process in which a neutral third party helps disputing parties craft their own mutually acceptable solution.

Common approaches — avoiding, accommodating, competing, compromising, and collaborating — matched to the situation.

A formal evaluation of an employee's performance against expectations over a period.

A narrative method in which the manager writes a few paragraphs describing the employee's performance.

An appraisal method that sorts employees into fixed categories, such as top, middle, and bottom performers.

A rater error in which one strong (or weak) trait colors all other ratings of the employee.

Rating an employee based on comparison to others, or to the rater, rather than on the employee's actual performance.

A rater error in which the most recent events outweigh performance across the whole review period.

A rater error in which everyone is rated near the middle of the scale to avoid extremes.

Frequent, specific feedback that lets employees adjust in real time and reduces surprises at the formal review.

Efforts to build a representative, fair, and welcoming workplace; most effective with accountable leadership and measurable indicators.

A policy with confidential reporting channels and prompt follow-up that encourages employees to report concerns without fear.

Managing a smooth, compliant separation of a departing employee — exit interview, asset recovery, and final pay.

The systematic process of gathering information about a job's duties, responsibilities, and required knowledge, skills, and abilities.

A document, produced from a job analysis, listing a position's duties, responsibilities, and required qualifications.

The fundamental duties of a job — central to the ADA, because reasonable accommodation must enable a qualified person to perform them.

Job duties that are peripheral rather than fundamental to the position.

The specific competencies a job requires; KSAs bridge the job analysis to selection criteria and training design.

Estimating future staffing needs based on demand, growth, and turnover so hiring can be planned.

Shaping an organization's reputation as a desirable place to work in order to attract and retain talent.

An ongoing pool of qualified, interested potential candidates maintained for current and future openings.

Sourcing in which current employees recommend candidates; tends to produce strong cultural fit and a shorter time-to-fill.

An interview asking every candidate the same job-related questions, scored on a consistent rubric, improving fairness and comparability.

An interview that asks candidates to describe how they handled past situations, on the theory that past behavior predicts future behavior.

Contacting a candidate's prior employers or contacts to verify performance and confirm the candidate's information.

Verification of a candidate's history, typically conducted after a conditional offer of employment.

A job offer contingent on conditions such as passing a background check or drug screen.

A document stating the position, start date, pay, and key terms of a job offer; usually at-will, not a binding contract.

A legally binding agreement that may set a fixed term and specific conditions, distinct from an at-will offer letter.

Increased pay or a promotion a current employer offers to retain an employee who has resigned.

A document in which an employee promises not to share an employer's confidential information.

Integrating and preparing a new hire — orientation, paperwork (I-9), policy acknowledgments, and early support.

A new hire's first-day welcome: required paperwork, introductions, and a tour — the start of onboarding.

Software that collects, organizes, and tracks job applications and candidates through the hiring funnel.

A recruiting metric: the number of days from when a requisition is approved to when an offer is accepted.

A recruiting metric: total recruiting cost (advertising, agency fees, referral bonuses) divided by the number of hires.

The stages from applied to screened to interviewed to offered to hired, used to find where candidates drop off.

Giving candidates an honest picture of a role's duties and challenges to improve fit and reduce early turnover.

Everything of value an employer provides for work: direct pay, indirect benefits, and statutory (mandated) benefits.

Cash an employee earns — base wage or salary, overtime, bonuses, commissions, and incentive pay.

Non-cash benefits an employer provides, such as health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off.

An employee not entitled to overtime under the FLSA — typically a salaried executive, administrative, or professional role meeting salary and duties tests.

An employee entitled to at least minimum wage and overtime (1.5x the regular rate over 40 hours per week) under the FLSA.

FLSA exemption requires meeting both a minimum salary level and a duties test; the job title alone never decides it.

When an employee works two pay rates in one week, FLSA overtime is figured on the weighted average of those rates.

Paid time off in lieu of cash overtime, generally available only to public-sector employers under specific conditions.

The lowest hourly pay the FLSA (or a higher state law) allows an employer to pay covered, non-exempt employees.

The framework of pay grades and ranges that an organization uses to set and manage compensation.

A systematic process for setting the relative internal worth of jobs to build internal pay equity.

Market data on what other employers pay similar roles, used to keep compensation externally competitive.

The concept that jobs of comparable value to the organization should be paid comparably, even if the work differs.

An increase to base pay based on an individual's performance.

Variable pay tied to performance, output, or goals — bonuses, commissions, or profit-sharing.

Federal Insurance Contributions Act payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare.

Benefits required by law: Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation.

A defined-contribution retirement plan that lets employees defer pay, often with an employer match.

Defined benefit promises a set pension; defined contribution (like a 401(k)) depends on contributions and investment returns.

An ERISA-required document explaining a benefit plan's features and a participant's rights in plain language.

An ACA-required, standardized, plain-language document letting enrollees compare health-plan coverage and costs.

A voluntary benefit combining vacation, sick, and personal leave into a single bank of paid days.

Comparing current employee capabilities against job requirements to identify the performance or skills gap training should close.

The difference between what employees can currently do and what the job requires — the target of training.

An instructional-design framework: Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate.

The phase that identifies the audience, the performance gap, and the learning objectives.

The phase that sets learning objectives, chooses the instructional strategy, and sequences the content.

The phase that measures learner reactions, learning, and results, then feeds back into the cycle.

A model for evaluating training by reaction, learning, behavior, and results.

A clear statement of what a learner should know or be able to do after training.

Organizing content so learners build basic concepts before tackling harder material.

Built-in opportunities to apply material and receive feedback, which improve retention and transfer to the job.

A platform that delivers online courses and records and reports each employee's training completions and due dates.

Training at the workstation, where an experienced worker guides a new employee through real tasks.

Training delivered live by an instructor, in person or virtually, suited to complex topics needing discussion.

A live training session delivered online, reaching dispersed employees quickly and consistently.

Self-paced online training that is flexible, scalable, and trackable in an LMS.

A training approach combining self-paced online modules with live, instructor-led sessions.

Pairing a tenured employee with a newer colleague to share knowledge and guidance over time.

One-on-one guidance focused on improving a specific skill or performance area.

Principles that adults learn best when training is relevant, problem-centered, and respects their experience.

Mapping development and advancement opportunities so employees can grow within the organization.

Identifying and developing internal talent to fill key roles when they become vacant.