Your FREE PHR Flashcards 2026 – 250+ Cards

The HR Certification Institute (HRCI) — the PHR (Professional in Human Resources) is HRCI's operational/technical-level US HR credential.

US operational and technical HR — program implementation, employment law, and day-to-day HR practice. (Strategy/policy is the SPHR's focus.)

PHR = operational/tactical, US-law and implementation focus. SPHR = strategic/policy, organization-wide, business-leadership focus. Same body (HRCI).

Different bodies: PHR is HRCI (knowledge/law-focused); SHRM-CP is SHRM (behavioral-competency + knowledge). Both are professional-level US HR certs.

Business Management; Talent Planning & Acquisition; Learning & Development; Total Rewards; Employee & Labor Relations.

A scaled score of 500 on a 100–700 scale (a fixed standard, not a raw percentage).

115 items total (about 90 scored + 25 unscored pretest), with roughly a 2-hour testing time.

Strategic = long-range direction and goals set by leadership. Operational = day-to-day execution that carries out the strategy. The PHR centers on operational HR.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats — a framework that scans internal strengths/weaknesses and external opportunities/threats to inform strategy.

Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental — a scan of the macro-environment outside the organization.

Mission = why the organization exists today (its purpose). Vision = the aspirational future state it is working toward.

Comparing the organization's processes and performance metrics against industry bests or best-practice firms to identify improvement opportunities.

An organization managing its impact on society and the environment — operating ethically and contributing beyond legal minimums.

Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement — Prosci's individual-level model for managing change.

Unfreeze (prepare for change), Change (implement), Refreeze (lock in the new state).

A strategy tool measuring performance across four perspectives: financial, customer, internal process, and learning & growth.

Metrics = measures of HR activity (e.g., turnover rate, cost per hire). Analytics = using data to find patterns and predict/inform decisions.

Separations ÷ average headcount over a period, expressed as a percentage. High turnover signals retention or culture problems.

Total recruiting costs (internal + external) ÷ number of hires in a period. A core talent-acquisition efficiency metric.

Centralized = one corporate HR function controls policy. Decentralized = HR authority pushed to business units/locations for local responsiveness.

Enterprise environmental factors (outside conditions: culture, market, law) and organizational process assets (internal plans, policies, templates) that shape work.

Prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Applies to employers with 15+ employees; enforced by the EEOC.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — the federal agency that enforces anti-discrimination laws (Title VII, ADA, ADEA, Equal Pay Act, GINA).

Disparate treatment = intentional discrimination against a protected class. Disparate impact = a neutral policy that disproportionately harms a protected class (no intent required).

An EEOC adverse-impact guideline: if a protected group's selection rate is below 80% of the highest group's rate, it suggests adverse impact.

Bona fide occupational qualification — a narrow defense allowing otherwise-discriminatory hiring (by sex, religion, national origin, age) when it is reasonably necessary to the job. Never permitted for race/color.

Federal contractors above thresholds (under Executive Order 11246, enforced by the OFCCP) must maintain written affirmative action plans.

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs — enforces affirmative-action and nondiscrimination obligations of federal contractors.

Corporate-governance law with whistleblower protections; HR supports anti-retaliation, ethics reporting, and document-retention controls.

A structured, organization-wide approach to identifying, assessing, and responding to risks that could affect objectives.

Misclassification affects taxes, overtime, benefits, and liability. The IRS and DOL use control-based tests (behavioral, financial, relationship) to decide.

Strategic HR aligns people practices with long-term business goals; operational HR runs the day-to-day (hiring, pay, compliance). The PHR centers on the operational level.

The collective knowledge, skills, and abilities of an organization's people, viewed as an asset that creates value.

Human resource information system — software managing employee data, payroll, benefits, time, and reporting.

Employers must safeguard personal employee data and comply with privacy/security rules; mishandling exposes the organization to liability.

The number of subordinates reporting to one manager. Wide spans flatten the structure; narrow spans add layers and closer supervision.

Centralization keeps decision-making at the top; decentralization pushes it down to lower levels for speed and local fit.

The shared values, beliefs, and norms that shape how people behave in an organization — a key driver of engagement and performance.

Functional groups by specialty; divisional by product/region/customer; matrix has dual reporting (function + project).

HR handles due diligence on people costs/liabilities, culture integration, retention, harmonizing pay/benefits, and managing change/communications.

A systematic review of HR policies, practices, and compliance to identify gaps and risks and recommend improvements.

A policy states what the organization will do and why; a procedure spells out the step-by-step how.

A document communicating policies, expectations, and benefits; it should include an at-will disclaimer and avoid implying a contract.

Keeping employment records for legally required periods (e.g., I-9, payroll, EEO data) and disposing of them properly afterward.

Line functions directly produce goods/services and revenue; staff functions (like HR) support and advise the line.

A project is a temporary effort with a defined end (e.g., implementing an HRIS); a program coordinates related projects for broader benefit.

Efficiency = doing things with minimal resources (the right way); effectiveness = achieving the intended result (the right things).

A stakeholder is anyone affected by the organization (employees, customers, community); a shareholder owns equity. All shareholders are stakeholders.

The ability to work effectively across cultures — key for managing global teams, expatriates, and multinational policy.

An employee assigned to work in a country other than their home country, requiring special pay, tax, and relocation considerations.

Reintegrating an expatriate back into the home organization after an international assignment — a frequent retention challenge.

Disparate impact challenges a specific practice; courts rejected a 'bottom-line' defense — overall balanced results don't excuse a discriminatory selection step.

Reactive HR (Type I) responds to problems as they arise; proactive/strategic HR (Type II) anticipates needs and aligns with business plans.

Ensuring people, communication, and staffing plans keep critical functions running during disruptions (disasters, pandemics).

A generalist handles a broad range of HR functions; a specialist focuses deeply on one area (e.g., comp, benefits, labor relations).

A systematic study of a job's duties, responsibilities, and required knowledge/skills — the foundation for descriptions, selection, pay, and training.

Job description = the duties and responsibilities of the role. Job specification = the qualifications (KSAs) a person needs to perform it.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities required to perform a job — the basis for selection criteria and competency models.

Forecasting future talent needs and comparing them to current supply (a gap analysis), then planning to close the gap through hiring, development, or restructuring.

Identifying and developing internal talent to fill key leadership and critical roles, ensuring continuity when incumbents leave.

Internal (promotion, transfer, referral) is faster, cheaper, and boosts morale. External brings new skills and diversity but costs more and takes longer.

The reputation and value proposition an organization projects as a place to work — it attracts and retains talent and shapes candidate perception.

The total package of rewards and experiences an employer offers in exchange for performance — pay, benefits, development, culture, and purpose.

Reliability = consistent results over time. Validity = the test actually measures what it claims and predicts job performance. A test can be reliable but not valid.

Criterion-related (predicts performance), content (samples the job), and construct (measures a trait like leadership). Validity supports defensible hiring.

Structured = same job-related questions and scoring for every candidate (more valid and legally defensible). Unstructured = open, inconsistent, higher bias risk.

Asks for past examples ('Tell me about a time…') on the premise that past behavior predicts future behavior. Often scored with the STAR method.

Giving candidates an honest picture of the job's positives and negatives before hire to improve fit and reduce early turnover.

The proportion of candidates who move from one recruiting stage to the next (e.g., applications → interviews) — used to plan and evaluate the funnel.

Time to fill = days from job opening to offer accepted. Time to hire = days from a candidate entering the pipeline to accepting. Both measure speed.

The structured process of integrating new hires — paperwork, orientation, training, and socialization — to speed productivity and improve retention.

The federal form verifying a new hire's identity and authorization to work in the US. Must be completed within three business days of the start date.

A voluntary (sometimes mandatory) federal system that confirms employment eligibility by comparing I-9 data to government records.

Requires employers to verify work authorization (Form I-9) and prohibits knowingly hiring unauthorized workers; also bars citizenship/national-origin discrimination in hiring.

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act — employers of 100+ must give 60 days' notice of a mass layoff or plant closing.

Negligent hiring = failing to screen a dangerous applicant. Negligent retention = keeping an employee after learning they pose a risk. Both create employer liability.

Fair Credit Reporting Act — governs third-party background checks: requires disclosure, written consent, and a pre-adverse-action notice before rejecting on a report.

Transferring all or part of recruiting to an external provider that manages the hiring process on the employer's behalf.

Sourcing and selection practices that widen and balance the candidate pool across demographics to build a more inclusive workforce.

Recruitment attracts a pool of qualified candidates; selection chooses among them using valid, job-related criteria.

Software that manages job postings, applications, screening, and the hiring workflow.

Active candidates are job-seeking; passive candidates are employed and not looking but open to the right opportunity — often sourced directly.

A requisition is the internal request/authorization to fill a role; a posting is the external/internal advertisement of the opening.

How an applicant perceives every interaction with the employer during hiring; a poor experience damages the employer brand.

Contingent workers (temps, contractors, gig) are engaged on a non-permanent basis; regular employees hold ongoing positions.

A validated test (cognitive, personality, skills, work sample) used to predict job performance and improve selection.

A selection rate for a protected group that is substantially lower than the highest group's — often measured by the 4/5ths rule.

Federal guidance defining how selection procedures must be validated to avoid unlawful discrimination.

Sourcing finds and engages potential candidates (often passive); recruiting moves identified candidates through to hire.

Reaching agreement with a candidate on pay, start date, and terms; HR balances candidate expectations with internal equity and budget.

Turnover = all separations (often replaced). Attrition = reductions through natural departures not backfilled. Both reduce headcount.

Voluntary = employee chooses to leave (resignation). Involuntary = employer ends it (termination, layoff). Both feed the turnover rate.

A proactive conversation with a current employee to learn what keeps them and what might cause them to leave — a retention tool.

A structured conversation with a departing employee to capture reasons for leaving and improvement opportunities.

Instructional-design framework: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation — a cycle for building effective training.

Analysis — identify the learning/performance gap, audience, and objectives before any content is designed.

Analysis at the organizational, task, and person levels to confirm a real skills gap and that training (not another fix) is the right solution.

1) Reaction, 2) Learning, 3) Behavior, 4) Results — measuring how trainees react, what they learned, on-the-job change, and business impact.

Results — the organizational impact of training (e.g., productivity, quality, cost, retention), the hardest level to attribute.

Software to administer, deliver, document, track, and report on training and e-learning programs.

Andragogy = adult learning (self-directed, experience-based, problem-centered). Pedagogy = teaching children. PHR training design follows adult-learning principles.

Adults are self-directed, draw on experience, are ready to learn what's relevant, prefer problem-centered learning, and are internally motivated.

A hierarchy of cognitive learning: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create — used to write learning objectives at the right level.

Training focused on the specific skills/abilities needed to perform a role, with mastery measured against defined competencies.

Learning by performing the actual job under guidance — practical and low-cost, but quality depends on the trainer and can disrupt production.

Performance feedback gathered from multiple sources — supervisor, peers, subordinates, and sometimes customers — to give a well-rounded development view.

Coaching = short-term, performance- and skill-focused. Mentoring = longer-term relationship focused on career and personal development.

An integrated approach to attracting, developing, engaging, and retaining talent — linking recruiting, development, performance, and succession.

A formal review of an employee's job performance against expectations, used for feedback, development, pay, and personnel decisions.

Halo/horns, recency, central tendency, leniency/strictness, and contrast — biases that distort ratings; training and structure reduce them.

Management by objectives — setting specific, measurable goals jointly with employees and appraising against goal achievement.

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound — a framework for writing clear, trackable objectives.

Comparing current employee skills to those required (now or in the future) to target training and development investments.

Human performance improvement diagnoses whether a gap is caused by skills, motivation, environment, or resources before defaulting to training.

Theory X assumes people dislike work and need control; Theory Y assumes people are self-motivated and seek responsibility.

Physiological, safety, social, esteem, self-actualization — needs are pursued in order; satisfied needs no longer motivate.

Hygiene factors (pay, conditions) prevent dissatisfaction; motivators (achievement, recognition, growth) drive satisfaction and motivation.

Motivation = expectancy (effort→performance) × instrumentality (performance→reward) × valence (value of the reward).

The emotional commitment and discretionary effort employees give the organization; high engagement links to retention and performance.

An employee identified as capable of advancing into broader or leadership roles, typically targeted for accelerated development.

An organization that continuously acquires and shares knowledge to adapt and improve (Senge's concept).

Combining instructor-led and self-paced/e-learning methods to leverage the strengths of each.

Development comes ~70% from on-the-job experience, ~20% from others (coaching/mentoring), and ~10% from formal training.

Applying game elements (points, badges, leaderboards) to learning to boost engagement and motivation.

A defined set of behaviors, skills, and knowledge required for success in a role or organization, used across selection, development, and performance.

Mapping the sequence of roles and development steps an employee can take to progress within the organization.

Training builds current job skills; development prepares employees for future roles and broader growth.

The degree to which skills learned in training are applied on the job; manager support and practice opportunities increase it.

A small-scale test of a new training program before full rollout to catch problems and gather feedback.

Delivering content in short, focused bursts (a few minutes) to fit busy schedules and improve retention.

A specific, measurable statement of what a learner should be able to do after training, often written with an action verb (Bloom's Taxonomy).

Formative evaluation improves a program during development; summative evaluation judges its effectiveness after delivery.

Calibration aligns managers' ratings for fairness/consistency across teams; an appraisal evaluates one employee's performance.

A formal, time-bound plan with specific goals to correct underperformance, documenting support and consequences.

OD is a planned, system-wide effort to improve effectiveness through change; training builds specific individual skills.

Sets federal minimum wage, overtime (1.5× over 40 hours/week for non-exempt), child-labor rules, and recordkeeping requirements.

Non-exempt employees must receive overtime; exempt employees do not. Exemption requires meeting a salary basis, salary level, and duties test.

Executive, Administrative, Professional, Computer, and Outside Sales — each has a specific duties test plus salary requirements.

A pay strategy choice: lead the market (above), match (at), or lag (below) competitive pay — driving how the organization attracts and retains talent.

A systematic process to determine the relative worth of jobs internally, establishing equitable pay differentials. Methods: ranking, classification, point-factor, factor comparison.

Internal equity = fairness of pay among jobs inside the firm (job evaluation). External equity = competitiveness vs the labor market (salary surveys).

A pay grade groups jobs of similar value; the pay range is the min-midpoint-max spread within that grade for setting individual pay.

An employee's pay ÷ the range midpoint. Below 1.0 = paid below midpoint; above 1.0 = above midpoint. Used to monitor pay positioning.

Red-circle = pay above the range max (frozen until the range catches up). Green-circle = pay below the range min (raised toward the minimum).

Defined benefit = employer promises a set pension (e.g., based on salary/years). Defined contribution (e.g., 401(k)) = contributions defined; the payout depends on investment results.

A benefit plan letting employees choose among pre-tax benefit options (e.g., health premiums, FSAs), reducing taxable income.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act — sets standards for private pension and welfare benefit plans: fiduciary duties, vesting, funding, and disclosure (SPD).

Lets employees (20+ employee employers) and dependents continue group health coverage after a qualifying event (e.g., job loss), usually up to 18 months, at their own cost.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act — protects health-information privacy and limits pre-existing-condition exclusions and coverage discrimination.

Affordable Care Act — applicable large employers (50+ full-time equivalents) must offer affordable, minimum-value coverage or face penalties.

Requires equal pay for men and women performing substantially equal work (skill, effort, responsibility, conditions) in the same establishment.

Resets the statute-of-limitations clock for pay-discrimination claims with each discriminatory paycheck, making it easier to challenge ongoing pay disparities.

A substantial compensation/benefit package paid to an executive if they are terminated, typically after a change in company control (e.g., acquisition).

Short-term = annual bonuses tied to yearly results. Long-term = equity (stock options, RSUs) and multi-year plans aligning executives with sustained performance.

Agreements letting select executives defer income beyond qualified-plan limits — flexible but lacking ERISA's funding protections.

The full value an employer provides: compensation, benefits, work-life balance, recognition, and development — used to attract, motivate, and retain talent.

The point at which an employee owns employer contributions. ERISA caps schedules: e.g., 3-year cliff or 2-to-6-year graded for defined contribution plans.

Requires payment of locally prevailing wages and benefits to laborers on federally funded construction contracts over $2,000.

Sets labor standards (minimum wage, overtime, safety) for contractors on federal supply/manufacturing contracts over $10,000.

Clarifies which pre- and post-work activities are compensable 'hours worked' under the FLSA (commuting generally is not).

Increasing a payment so that, after taxes are withheld, the employee receives the intended net amount (common for relocation or bonuses).

Collapsing many narrow pay grades into a few wide bands, giving flexibility in pay and de-emphasizing promotions through grades.

When the pay gap between new hires and tenured employees (or between subordinates and managers) shrinks too much, hurting equity and morale.

To be exempt, a job must meet BOTH the duties test (job responsibilities) and the salary basis/level test (paid a fixed salary above the threshold).

The hourly rate used to compute overtime; it includes most compensation (e.g., nondiscretionary bonuses), not just base wage.

Discretionary bonuses (truly at employer's option) are excluded from the regular rate; nondiscretionary bonuses (promised/expected) must be included.

Extra pay for working undesirable shifts, hazardous duties, or special conditions, added on top of base pay.

A group incentive that shares the financial gains from improved productivity or cost savings with the employees who achieved them.

A plan distributing a portion of company profits to employees, tying rewards to overall organizational performance.

Employee stock ownership plan — a qualified plan that invests primarily in employer stock, giving employees an ownership stake.

A defined-contribution retirement plan letting employees defer pre-tax (or Roth) pay, often with an employer match, subject to annual IRS limits.

FSA = use-it-or-lose-it pre-tax account for medical/dependent care. HSA = portable, owned account paired with a high-deductible health plan; funds roll over.

Market pay data collected to benchmark the organization's compensation and ensure external competitiveness.

Assigning points to compensable factors (skill, effort, responsibility, conditions) and summing them to rank jobs by relative worth.

Sharing pay ranges or structures openly; a growing number of states require posting salary ranges in job ads.

A legal withholding of part of an employee's earnings to pay a debt (e.g., child support, taxes); the CCPA limits how much can be taken.

Caps the amount of disposable earnings that can be garnished and prohibits firing an employee for a single garnishment.

Salary = a fixed amount per pay period regardless of hours (often exempt). Wages = pay based on hours worked (often non-exempt, overtime-eligible).

The DOL's primary-beneficiary test decides if an intern is an employee owed wages; for-profit interns who are the primary beneficiary are generally employees.

Paid time off given instead of overtime cash — generally lawful only for public-sector employees under the FLSA.

The minimum salary an employee must earn to qualify for an FLSA white-collar exemption (set by the DOL and periodically updated — verify the current figure).

Direct pay (base + variable) plus the value of benefits and perquisites — the full monetary value an employee receives.

Setting pay ranges directly from external market survey data rather than primarily from internal job evaluation.

Merit pay rewards individual performance; a COLA raises pay across the board to offset inflation, regardless of performance.

An employer initiative promoting employee health (screenings, fitness, EAP) to improve well-being and control health costs; ADA/GINA limits apply to incentives.

State programs (e.g., CA, NY) providing partial wage replacement for family/medical leave — distinct from the federal unpaid FMLA.

A joint federal-state program paying temporary benefits to workers who lose jobs through no fault of their own, funded mainly by employer payroll taxes (FUTA/SUTA).

Federal Insurance Contributions Act — payroll tax funding Social Security and Medicare, split between employer and employee.

A perquisite (perk) is a special privilege for select employees (e.g., company car); a benefit is part of the standard reward package for many or all.

Gives private-sector employees the right to organize, form unions, and bargain collectively; created the NLRB and defined employer unfair labor practices.

National Labor Relations Board — the federal agency that conducts union elections and investigates/remedies unfair labor practices under the NLRA.

The right of employees to engage in 'protected concerted activity' — organizing, bargaining, and acting together on working conditions (union or not).

Amended the NLRA to add union unfair labor practices, ban the closed shop, permit state right-to-work laws, and allow national-emergency strike injunctions.

Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act — protects union members' rights and requires financial transparency and democratic procedures within unions.

Closed shop (illegal) = must be a union member before hire. Union shop = must join after hire. Agency shop = needn't join but pays a fee for representation.

A state (allowed by Taft-Hartley) that bars requiring union membership or fees as a condition of employment.

Under CWA v. Beck, employees who object can pay only the share of union dues that covers representation (bargaining), not political or other activities.

A unionized employee's right to request union representation during an investigatory interview that could lead to discipline.

A union must represent all bargaining-unit members fairly, in good faith, and without discrimination — even non-members it represents.

Mandatory (wages, hours, conditions) must be bargained. Permissive may be bargained but not to impasse. Illegal subjects can't be bargained at all.

Parties must meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith over mandatory subjects — without a duty to actually agree or make concessions.

Going through the motions of bargaining with no real intent to reach agreement — an unfair labor practice.

A genuine deadlock after good-faith bargaining; the employer may then lawfully implement its last best offer on mandatory subjects.

Conduct by an employer or union that violates the NLRA (e.g., retaliating against organizers, refusing to bargain). Charges are filed with the NLRB.

Threaten, Interrogate, Promise, Spy — the four things supervisors must NOT do during a union-organizing campaign (they are ULPs).

A list of names and addresses of bargaining-unit employees the employer must give the union before an NLRB election.

Union pressure on a neutral (secondary) employer to force it to stop doing business with the primary employer — generally illegal under Taft-Hartley.

A strike by employees without union authorization, typically violating a no-strike clause in the collective bargaining agreement.

A union tactic of having members apply for jobs at a target employer to organize from within; refusing to hire someone for salting can be a ULP.

Mediation = a neutral facilitates a voluntary settlement (non-binding). Arbitration = a neutral hears the dispute and issues a binding decision.

Interest arbitration sets the terms of a new contract. Rights (grievance) arbitration interprets/applies an existing contract.

A fair-discipline standard: the employer must show a legitimate, documented reason and follow due process before discipline or termination.

Escalating corrective steps — verbal warning, written warning, suspension, termination — giving employees notice and a chance to correct.

Either party may end employment at any time for any lawful reason. Exceptions: public policy, implied contract, and good-faith/fair-dealing.

When an employer makes conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person resigns — treated legally as if the employee was fired.

Family and Medical Leave Act — up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for qualifying family/medical reasons.

Employers with 50+ employees within 75 miles; employees eligible after 12 months and 1,250 hours worked in the prior year.

Americans with Disabilities Act — bars disability discrimination (15+ employees) and requires reasonable accommodation absent undue hardship.

A modification (e.g., schedule, equipment, reassignment) enabling a qualified person with a disability to perform essential functions, unless it causes undue hardship.

A good-faith dialogue between employer and employee to identify the disability-related limitation and an effective reasonable accommodation.

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

Amends Title VII to bar discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions; pregnant workers must be treated like others similar in ability to work.

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act — requires covered employers (15+) to provide reasonable accommodations for known limitations from pregnancy or childbirth.

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act — prohibits using genetic information in employment decisions and restricts acquiring it.

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act — protects the jobs and reemployment rights of employees who serve in the military.

Occupational Safety and Health Act/Administration — requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards; the General Duty Clause is the catch-all.

Section 5(a)(1) — requires employers to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm, even without a specific standard.

Form 300 (log of injuries/illnesses), 300A (annual summary, posted Feb 1–Apr 30), and 301 (incident report).

A no-fault state insurance system paying medical costs and lost wages for work-related injuries/illnesses, in exchange for limiting the employer's tort liability.

Quid pro quo = job benefits conditioned on submitting to sexual advances. Hostile environment = severe/pervasive conduct that creates an abusive workplace.

Adverse action against an employee for engaging in protected activity (e.g., filing a complaint, whistleblowing). It's the most common EEOC charge.

Employee assistance program — a confidential benefit offering counseling and referrals for personal, financial, legal, or substance issues.

The written contract between an employer and union covering wages, hours, and working conditions, including a grievance procedure.

The formal, usually multi-step process in a CBA for resolving employee complaints about contract violations, often ending in binding arbitration.

Laws (e.g., SOX, OSHA, False Claims Act) protecting employees who report illegal conduct from retaliation.

60 calendar days' advance written notice to affected workers before a mass layoff or plant closing (employers of 100+).

A contract restricting an employee from competing after leaving; enforceability varies by state and is increasingly restricted.

A contract giving departing employees pay/benefits in exchange for a release of claims; OWBPA rules apply for workers 40+.

Older Workers Benefit Protection Act — amends the ADEA; sets requirements (e.g., consideration/revocation periods) for valid waivers of age claims.

An involuntary, often permanent, elimination of positions; requires careful, non-discriminatory selection criteria and possible WARN notice.

Accurate, contemporaneous records of performance and conduct — the foundation for defensible discipline and termination decisions.

A prompt, thorough, impartial fact-finding into a complaint (e.g., harassment), with documented findings and appropriate action.

Requires certain federal contractors/grantees to maintain a drug-free workplace policy and awareness program.

A shutdown of a single site causing 50+ employment losses in a 30-day period triggers WARN notice for employers of 100+.

A CBA provision in which the union agrees not to strike during the contract term, usually paired with binding grievance arbitration.

Employees acting together about working conditions (e.g., discussing pay) are protected under NLRA Section 7 even without a union.

A layoff is a separation (with possible recall); a furlough is a temporary, unpaid leave where employment continues.

Exempt status concerns overtime pay; at-will concerns the right to end employment. They are separate concepts often confused on the exam.

An employee files a charge; the EEOC investigates, may mediate, and either finds cause (and may sue) or issues a right-to-sue letter.

Both address race discrimination; Section 1981 (Civil Rights Act of 1866) covers contracts with no employer-size minimum and a longer filing window.

A group covered by anti-discrimination law (race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age 40+, disability, genetic info, and more under state law).

A grievance is a formal allegation that a contract/policy was violated, usually with a defined process; a complaint is an informal concern.

Both use a neutral third party to help resolve disputes; conciliation (often EEOC-led) is typically more directive in proposing settlement terms.

Primary picketing targets the employer in a dispute (lawful); secondary picketing targets a neutral business to pressure the primary (generally unlawful).

A steward is an employee who represents coworkers on-site; a business agent is a paid union official handling broader union affairs.

A process by which employees vote to remove a union as their bargaining representative, conducted through the NLRB.

The group of employees with a community of interest that a union represents in collective bargaining, as defined by the NLRB.

Economic strikers (over wages/conditions) can be permanently replaced; unfair-labor-practice strikers (protesting employer ULPs) must be reinstated.

A strike is a work stoppage initiated by employees; a lockout is the employer barring employees from work to pressure the union in bargaining.

Employers must reasonably accommodate sincerely held religious beliefs/practices unless it causes undue hardship (a substantial cost burden after Groff v. DeJoy).