PHR / SPHR Professional Exam: Employee and Labor Relations | Practice Test / Quiz / MCQs

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PHR / SPHR Professional Exam: Employee and Labor Relations

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Employee and labor relations are complex issues. They often require HR personnel to understand complex legal requirements. They depend on talented and skilled management personnel to guide employees and the organization through all requirements of day-to-day concerns. In today’s employment world, HR professionals must have a great depth of legal knowledge because they will need to use that knowledge every day.

PHR / SPHR Professional Exam: Employee and Labor Relations

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1. Elaine has attended an industry meeting with other HR professionals. She came back to her office with the idea that background investigations of new hires is something she ought to implement. What would you say to Elaine about that idea?

Background checks are still legal and should be conducted on applicants before a job offer is made to be sure there is no history of bad behavior that could bring liability into the new workplace.The EEOC has only recommended that background checks not automatically eliminate Hispanics or Blacks because of employment history.The EEOC has banned background investigations in any form because they discriminate against Hispanics and Blacks.Finding anyone these days with no skeleton in the closet is going to be very difficult. Background checks are not really worth the money or time they require.

2. A union contract normally details the process called “progressive discipline.” How would you counsel non-union employers to deal with the process?

Progressive discipline is a good process for any employer. It offers “due process” to workers, and it satisfies the legal covenant called “Good Faith and Fair Dealing.”Employers can consider using progressive discipline, but absent a union contract, there is little motivation to use the process.Progressive discipline is only required for union-represented organizations.There is no need for non-union employers to have a progressive discipline process since they are probably “at-will” employers and can terminate employees any time.

3. Gwen has just been promoted to HR Manager and has no background in that area of the business. She has always been in engineering. Her boss wants her to establish an employee-management committee that he can chair. How would you advise Gwen under those circumstances?

There is nothing wrong with an employee-management committee as long as it has representation from both management and non-management.Gwen should explain to her boss that the NLRB has ruled such committees to be in violation of the law if management controls them.When employees participate in management, they must be paid a differential to compensate for the higher-level responsibilities they are taking on.Employee-management committees are only legal in organizations that have no union representation.

4. Alex insists on taking all calls requesting employment verification for former employees. As the HR Manager, he refuses to give any feedback about people who were poor performers, but for those who were good performers, he is willing to explain how well they had done. What do you think of Alex’s approach to employee references?

His approach to references will develop a reputation for the employer, and other employers will soon be able to know if someone was a bad performer simply because Alex doesn’t give them any feedback about performance. That in itself could constitute a poor reference and be cause for some upset among former employees. His approach is a risky one that could bring liability to the employer.It sounds good. There should be no problem since he isn’t saying anything bad about anyone.Only if a former employee signs a release of liability should Alex give out information about poor performers.He should never give out any information about any former employee, good or bad.

5. Harold has heard that it is necessary to have a diversity management program under some new federal law. What would you tell Harold about that requirement?

There is no law requiring diversity management programs, and employers should not consider moving toward such programs unless they are federal contractors.The new law will require diversity management programs only for employers that have federal contracts to provide goods or services to government agencies.There is no federal law requiring diversity management programs. Sophisticated employers are moving in that direction because it is the right thing to do and production results often improve.The new law won’t be effective until a year after it was passed. So there is no immediate requirement for him to worry about.

6. Mia has only been an HR Manager for six months. She has been told by other HR professionals that she should have a policy that requires employees to go through arbitration rather than permit lawsuits. What should she do, if anything?

First, Mia should speak with her legal advisors to determine if mediation or arbitration would fit into their employment culture. Not every employer is well suited to requiring all employees to use arbitration for the resolution of disputes in the workplace.Once everyone in the organization understands the concept of mandatory arbitration and what it will cost each participant, the employer can proceed with a policy requiring it as the dispute resolution method to be used.Never should a policy be drafted that doesn’t already have the approval of senior management. A discussion about changing employee requirements related to dispute resolution should take place and then a new policy should be drafted and implemented.Mia should draft a new policy statement that can be forwarded to senior management for its approval. It should take advantage of mandatory arbitration to prevent the cost of employee lawsuits.

7. Caladonia was interviewing with the HR Manager of an organization she really wanted to work for. The HR Manager told her that “the employer was really good about not laying off workers.” They always found another way to deal with slow periods. Can Caladonia rely on that statement as an oral contract?

Absolutely. There is no question that the HR Manager made an oral contract with Caladonia.Definitely not. The HR Manager can say anything during an interview and it can’t be relied on as an oral contract.Probably not. There really wasn’t any promise made to not lay her off later.Perhaps. It was close to a promise that she wouldn’t be laid off in the future.

8. Gwen has just been promoted to HR Manager and has no background in that area of the business. She has always been in engineering. Her boss wants her to establish an employee-management committee that he can chair. How would you advise Gwen under those circumstances?

When employees participate in management, they must be paid a differential to compensate for the higher-level responsibilities they are taking on.Gwen should explain to her boss that the NLRB has ruled such committees to be in violation of the law if management controls them.Employee-management committees are only legal in organizations that have no union representation.There is nothing wrong with an employee-management committee as long as it has representation from both management and non-management.

9. A discrimination complaint notice has just arrived from the EEOC. You have 30 days to respond in writing to the Commission. What should you do before submitting your response?

Notify the employee that the notice of complaint was received and explain that we will be investigating to identify what happened and how to respond. Tell the employee you wish to schedule an interview to discuss what happened and what can be done to remeGo to the employee who filed the complaint and ask why.Notify the employee’s supervisor and explain that he or she cannot discuss the complaint with the employee. Conduct an investigation without talking to the complaining employee. Collect documentation that pertains to the complaint. Write the employer’s rationale for the decisions and actions taken that resulted in the complaint.Tell the supervisor that you will have to explain this to the CEO and the senior legal counsel. Once they are aware of the complaint, you will get back to the supervisor with their reaction.

10. Emma has never had to manage a union contract before. As the HR Manager, she is involved with the grievance handling process as the third step in the process. At her first meeting with the union steward, the steward began yelling at Emma and telling her what she had to do to satisfy the union in this situation. Emma was stunned. What should she do?

Emma should call a recess and ask for a management representative to join the meeting with her so she can have some backup in a very unpleasant situation.She has little choice but to sit there and take it. She is the employer’s representative and if she gets upset it will only make matters worse.Emma should recess the meeting and tell the steward that she will not continue their conversation until the steward can conduct herself in a civil manner.Once the steward has blown off all her steam, Emma should continue the discussion by explaining the employer’s position.

11. Naji is wondering how he is going to describe the difference between his organization’s employee grievance resolution process and the discrimination complaint handling process. What would you suggest?"

There isn’t any difference between them. The processes for handling them is the same.Grievances only happen in union-represented organizations so Naji doesn’t have to worry about that. He still has to explain how discrimination complaints can be handled in his organization.Employee grievances are often regarding workplace rules and work assignment processes. Discrimination complaints have more to do with equal employment opportunity issues.Handling grievances is not required by law, but handling discrimination complaints is a legal requirement under federal law.

12. Dabney is the HR Manager for his employer. He has been asked to write an employee handbook to provide all the organization’s policies in writing. What will employees be able to assume about the handbook policies?

Dabney should write the handbook so policies are acceptable to most employees. There will always be some exceptions to the rules.Handbook policies are only guidelines and they will offer general instruction about how to treat things like vacation and leaves of absence.With provisions for exceptions to be approved by senior management, Dabney can be confident that the handbook policies will be applied by all the managers in his organization.The policies are requirements. All managers and employees should use them consistently or there can be complaints of illegal discrimination.

13. Seniority will always be the determining factor in a union agreement.

Universally, unions will rely on seniority as the determining factor for all treatment under contract provisions.Not always. Some union contracts will use education as the determining factor over ruling seniority in the process.Public agencies rely on seniority and they are the only ones with those agreements.Seniority is only used by unions that have contracts or subcontracts with federal agencies.

14. Woodrow has been awarded a paid day off because he delivered his product development project ahead of schedule. Does this mean every time someone delivers a job in advance of the deadline they should be given a paid day off?

Maybe. If the situations are the same or very similar, the reward should be the same.Maybe. With an eye on illegal discrimination, the employer should err on the side of providing a day off with pay to anyone who completes work ahead of schedule.Maybe. However, if the employer can describe the reward as “special” based on the circumstances it needn’t create a precedent that must be followed in each future instance.Maybe. Assuming that the employees had the same amount of service and their projects were similar in difficulty, they should all be given a paid day off.

15. When Lloyd was told that he couldn’t take a personal leave of absence, he said to the HR Manager that his boss was being unfair. Lloyd wants to file a complaint of discrimination because he is being treated unfairly. As the HR Manager what would you tell Lloyd?

You will speak with Lloyd’s boss to find out why the leave of absence was denied, and you will get back to Lloyd with some feedback about the reasons why.Fairness is not a protected or guaranteed outcome of every employment decision. Lloyd should just accept the decision and make other plans.There can only be discrimination if someone else was given a leave of absence who was a different race than Lloyd.His boss has never made an unfair decision in his time with the company. It is very unlikely he would be unfair in this situation.

16. Woodrow has been awarded a paid day off because he delivered his product development project ahead of schedule. Does this mean every time someone delivers a job in advance of the deadline they should be given a paid day off?

Maybe. With an eye on illegal discrimination, the employer should err on the side of providing a day off with pay to anyone who completes work ahead of schedule.Maybe. Assuming that the employees had the same amount of service and their projects were similar in difficulty, they should all be given a paid day off.Maybe. However, if the employer can describe the reward as “special” based on the circumstances it needn’t create a precedent that must be followed in each future instance.Maybe. If the situations are the same or very similar, the reward should be the same.

17. Is it possible for employment policies (as laid out in the employee handbook) to take precedence over union contracts.

If there is a conflict between the union contract and the employer’s policies, the contract will always win.Whenever there are different provisions in a union contract and employer policy, the differences must be arbitrated to resolution.It is up to the manager of the unit involved to determine which will be applied in a given situation.In case a conflict arises then the policy will always prevail.

18. A union contract normally details the process called “progressive discipline.” How would you counsel non-union employers to deal with the process?

Progressive discipline is a good process for any employer. It offers “due process” to workers, and it satisfies the legal covenant called “Good Faith and Fair Dealing.”Employers can consider using progressive discipline, but absent a union contract, there is little motivation to use the process.There is no need for non-union employers to have a progressive discipline process since they are probably “at-will” employers and can terminate employees any time.Progressive discipline is only required for union-represented organizations.

19. Mary has never before had an employee who caused a physical fight with another employee. The policy in her organization calls for progressive discipline. Mary isn’t sure if she should just give the employee a warning or terminate him immediately. What would you recommend?

Violent behavior of any kind is justification for immediate dismissal. Even if there is no policy that says violence can result in immediate termination, that is how this situation should be handled.It is hard for someone to start a fight by themselves. Both employees should be written up, skipping the oral warning step of progressive discipline.It depends on how other aggressive behavior has been treated in the past. Even though there have not been fights per se, the employee treatment should be guided by history.This is the reason people should learn self-defense. When someone is defending themselves, there should be no reason for employer-imposed discipline. The aggressive employee should be given a written warning, though.

20. Olivia believes that it is a good idea to conduct an employee survey each year to get input about employee attitudes. Her Vice President thinks that employee surveys cost too much money and don’t provide much value in the end. What should Olivia tell the Vice President?

A well-constructed employee survey can provide information about the types of employment benefits employees would find attractive, how they feel about their managers, and if they believe they are being treated fairly. All of these feedback categories can be assigned dollar values and can be compared over time as budget impacts.Because the professional HR community is suggesting that employee surveys be conducted each year, it would be wise for Olivia’s organization to do that also.In the modern workplace, employee attitudes are controlling factors. Surveys will help managers regain control of the workplace.The organization Olivia worked at before did an employee survey and she thinks it would communicate to employees that the employer is willing to listen to them.

21. Dabney is the HR Manager negotiating a renewal of the contract his organization has with an international union. Because the union is international, he isn’t sure if the National Labor Relations Act applies to his situation. What would you tell him?

When the union is an international organization, it can choose between the governance of the ILRA and the NLRA.If Dabney’s organization is negotiating in good faith, there is no law that will tell him what to do. Only if he isn’t willing to negotiate will the NLRA take effect.The NLRA governs all union interactions regardless of the union’s scope of involvement.He’s right to be concerned. It is the International Labor Relations Act (ILRA) that governs his situation with the union.

22. Mia has only been an HR Manager for six months. She has been told by other HR professionals that she should have a policy that requires employees to go through arbitration rather than permit lawsuits. What should she do, if anything?

Mia should draft a new policy statement that can be forwarded to senior management for its approval. It should take advantage of mandatory arbitration to prevent the cost of employee lawsuits.First, Mia should speak with her legal advisors to determine if mediation or arbitration would fit into their employment culture. Not every employer is well suited to requiring all employees to use arbitration for the resolution of disputes in the workplace.Once everyone in the organization understands the concept of mandatory arbitration and what it will cost each participant, the employer can proceed with a policy requiring it as the dispute resolution method to be used.Never should a policy be drafted that doesn’t already have the approval of senior management. A discussion about changing employee requirements related to dispute resolution should take place and then a new policy should be drafted and implemented.

23. Alex insists on taking all calls requesting employment verification for former employees. As the HR Manager, he refuses to give any feedback about people who were poor performers, but for those who were good performers, he is willing to explain how well they had done. What do you think of Alex’s approach to employee references?

Only if a former employee signs a release of liability should Alex give out information about poor performers.He should never give out any information about any former employee, good or bad.It sounds good. There should be no problem since he isn’t saying anything bad about anyone.His approach to references will develop a reputation for the employer, and other employers will soon be able to know if someone was a bad performer simply because Alex doesn’t give them any feedback about performance. That in itself could constitute a poor reference and be cause for some upset among former employees. His approach is a risky one that could bring liability to the employer.

24. Elaine has attended an industry meeting with other HR professionals. She came back to her office with the idea that background investigations of new hires is something she ought to implement. What would you say to Elaine about that idea?

The EEOC has banned background investigations in any form because they discriminate against Hispanics and Blacks.The EEOC has only recommended that background checks not automatically eliminate Hispanics or Blacks because of employment history.Finding anyone these days with no skeleton in the closet is going to be very difficult. Background checks are not really worth the money or time they require.Background checks are still legal and should be conducted on applicants before a job offer is made to be sure there is no history of bad behavior that could bring liability into the new workplace.

25. When Jacob’s company experienced its first union organizing effort, the union won the election and Jacob was faced with having to negotiate his first union contract. Because it was his first time, what would you recommend Jacob do?

Once the union provides its demands, the only thing Jacob needs to do is explain to the union what can be done and what can’t be done.Jacob would be well advised to invite his labor relations attorney to participate in the negotiation process. He will need advice at each stage of the process to be sure he makes only wise commitments for the employer.Jacob should turn the negotiations over to the labor attorney. He can do all the negotiating and Jacob doesn’t even have to be involved.He should be all right if he gets a copy of another contract to use as a model and then sticks to that language.

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25 Questions

❤ If you liked Fatskills, consider supporting us by checking out The Life Manuals You Never Got.

About | Explore | User Guide | Topics | Subjects | Doubt Solver | Career Aptitude Test | Answers | Free Tools | OSHA Basics Quiz | What Should We Know? Privacy | Terms |

Without work one finishes nothing. - Ralph Waldo Emerson© 2026 Fatskills.com

All trademarks, logos and brand names are the property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, trademarks and brands does not imply endorsement.

About | Explore | User Guide | Topics | Subjects | Doubt Solver | Career Aptitude Test | Answers | Free Tools | OSHA Basics Quiz | What Should We Know?
Privacy | Terms |

Without work one finishes nothing. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
© 2026 Fatskills.com