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PHR / SPHR Professional Exam: U.S. Laws and Regulations

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Questions about U.S. laws and regulations concerning employee management.

PHR / SPHR Professional Exam: U.S. Laws and Regulations

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1. An employer routinely works with hazardous chemicals trucking them for delivery to various customer locations. After each load, the truck must be cleaned before being loaded with a different chemical. Cleaning has to be done by someone inside the tanker using special absorbent materials. What else should be considered?

Personal protective equipment should be provided by the employer, including breathing apparatus and hazmat suits.Breathing equipment is absolutely a requirement if someone will be in the tanker truck for longer than 30 minutes.Workers should never be sent into a tanker truck for any reason.Standard coveralls and boot covers should be provided for employees to use if they wish.

2. Shelly has worked for the same dentist for over ten years. In all that time, there has been no mention of any special requirements for handling syringes. She arranges the doctor’s equipment trays every day and cleans them up after they have been used. She just tosses the used equipment into the autoclave or into the trash if it won’t be used again. If you were advising Shelly about the practices used in her dental office, what would you say?

Needles should be broken off before they are thrown into the trash can.Putting used syringes into any solid container that is wrapped in red paper is sufficient to meet requirements.Sharps should be triple wrapped in a stiff paper to protect from sticking someone handling the trash.Any possible harm can be prevented if used syringes are placed into an approved sharps container.

3. Finding a life insurance company to provide benefits to its workforce has been difficult for Joan, the HR Manager. She decides to recommend that they offer a self-insured plan. What controls might Joan have to consider in her planning?

There are no federal restrictions on a company providing its own life insurance plan to employees.Only state laws will have an influence on Joan’s development of a self-insured benefit plan.The Employee Retirement Income Security Act regulates welfare benefit plans, including life insurance.The Life Insurance Benefit Plans Act has control over what Joan is able to do with her idea.

4. An employer routinely works with hazardous chemicals trucking them for delivery to various customer locations. After each load, the truck must be cleaned before being loaded with a different chemical. Cleaning has to be done by someone inside the tanker using special absorbent materials. What else should be considered?

Personal protective equipment should be provided by the employer, including breathing apparatus and hazmat suits.Workers should never be sent into a tanker truck for any reason.Breathing equipment is absolutely a requirement if someone will be in the tanker truck for longer than 30 minutes.Standard coveralls and boot covers should be provided for employees to use if they wish.

5. Every year Donna has to attend training on the use of the company vehicles she drives. She thinks this is a silly waste of time. Donna knows how to drive and she knows the company vehicles. Why should she attend training every year?

Only state safety provisions govern how frequently training must be done in Donna’s situation.OSHA only requires training be done once for vehicle operation.Safety programs must be developed that provide for refresher training on all equipment operating procedures.There is no federal requirement for Donna to take yearly training.

6. Gary is a junior at Southpark High School. He is 17 years old. The school needs some help in its warehouse during the summer and Gary needs a job so he can save money for college. His boss is the Manager of Facilities. Gary is assigned to work 9 hours every day during the week because one of the other employees is on disability leave. And, because the other employee was the forklift driver, Gary has been given training in how to drive that equipment around the warehouse and loading dock. He likes that duty because he has been driving a car for only a few months. The forklift is cool. Is there any difficulty with the Facilities Manager’s requirements of Gary?

Since there is no restriction to the number of hours Gary can work, everything should be okay.Whatever the Facilities Manager wants Gary to do is okay because it’s only a summer job.Even though Gary can work unlimited hours, he cannot be assigned to drive the forklift.Everything the Facilities Manager has required Gary to do is permissible under federal laws.

7. John, a new employee has just arrived at the orientation program where everyone completes their payroll forms and signs up for healthcare benefits. He brings his W-4 form up to you and says he isn’t subject to payroll withholding because he pays his taxes directly each quarter. What is your response?

I’ll check with the accounting department to find out if you can do that.Unfortunately, all employees are subject to payroll tax withholding.If you can show me a W-10 form you have submitted to the IRS, we can block your paycheck withholding.That’s okay. We won’t process a W-4 form for you. We will give you a Form 1099.

8. The Tractor and Belt Company (TBC) handles conveyor belt installations for many small firms. Each of the customer projects begins on a day that is most convenient for the customer. Sometimes, that’s Monday; sometimes it’s Thursday or some other day. The HR Manager says that the company will adjust its workweek to begin when the customer’s project starts. That way, each installation team has a separate workweek and those workweeks can shift several times a month. It’s better for the payroll system that way and the company can usually avoid paying overtime. What would you advise the HR Manager to do if you disagree with the policy of changing workweeks?

Once the workweek has been designated to begin on a certain day of the week it should not be changed by the HR Manager.The FLSA says a workweek should always begin on Sunday.It depends on state laws and regulations whether the workweek begins on any specific day of the week.The HR Manager is taking advantage of the FLSA’s provisions for flexible workweeks that support small business.

9. Cynthia works for a large multi-state manufacturing company and approaches her boss one morning and tells him that her husband has just received orders from the Coast Guard to report for deployment to the Middle East. They have a week to get everything ready for his departure. She wants to know if she can have excused time off during the coming week. If you were her boss what would you tell her?

If she wants the time off, she will have to use her paid vacation time for the week.She can take the time off, but it will be unexcused because she didn’t give more than a week’s notice.Jennifer has already requested the week off for vacation and only one person can be off at any one time or the unit won’t be able to function. Cynthia’s request is denied with regrets.She can have the time off, but it will be logged as unpaid and charged as FMLA leave.

10. Hank puts in the following hours at work: Sunday, 0; Monday, 8; Tuesday, 8; Wednesday, 9; Thursday, 8; Friday, 8; Saturday, 7. His boss says he will give Hank compensating time off for every hour of overtime Hank works. How many compensating hours off should Hank receive for this work time?

One day of compensating time off.1.5 days of compensating time off.Compensating time off is not permitted under the FLSA.7 hours of compensating time off.

11. Olivia suspects her payroll clerk of embezzlement. She has inspected the records for the past three months and the pattern is clear. But to be sure it is the payroll clerk and not the accounts payable clerk, Olivia wants to confront her and demand she take a lie detector test.

Lie detector tests can be required only in limited circumstances and this isn’t one of them. You can’t test her.While lie detector tests can be used for some employees, accounting employees are exempt. You can’t test her.Lie detector tests are not permitted for any use by any employer. You can’t test her.Good going, Olivia. You caught her. Sure enough, demanding that she take a lie detector test is a good way to confirm your suspicions.

12. Shelly has worked for the same dentist for over ten years. In all that time, there has been no mention of any special requirements for handling syringes. She arranges the doctor’s equipment trays every day and cleans them up after they have been used. She just tosses the used equipment into the autoclave or into the trash if it won’t be used again. If you were advising Shelly about the practices used in her dental office, what would you say?

Putting used syringes into any solid container that is wrapped in red paper is sufficient to meet requirements.Sharps should be triple wrapped in a stiff paper to protect from sticking someone handling the trash.Any possible harm can be prevented if used syringes are placed into an approved sharps container.Needles should be broken off before they are thrown into the trash can.

13. For the past 6 years, Sam’s company has been a federal contractor working on equipment for the Department of Defense. They have additional contract opportunities coming up and Sam isn’t sure if there will be an extra burden related to disabled workers because they are subject to both the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.

Sam should rest easy. The ADA and the Rehabilitation Act are identical in their content and requirements.Handling job accommodation requests is a requirement of the ADA but not the Rehabilitation Act. Things should be easier.Whatever Sam thinks, the ADA and Rehabilitation Act requirements have applied to his company for 6 years already. Adding more contracts won’t change his current obligations.Sam’s company has already met its recruiting obligations and now only has to worry about meeting ADA requirements.

14. For the past 6 years, Sam’s company has been a federal contractor working on equipment for the Department of Defense. They have additional contract opportunities coming up and Sam isn’t sure if there will be an extra burden related to disabled workers because they are subject to both the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.

Whatever Sam thinks, the ADA and Rehabilitation Act requirements have applied to his company for 6 years already. Adding more contracts won’t change his current obligations.Sam’s company has already met its recruiting obligations and now only has to worry about meeting ADA requirements.Sam should rest easy. The ADA and the Rehabilitation Act are identical in their content and requirements.Handling job accommodation requests is a requirement of the ADA but not the Rehabilitation Act. Things should be easier.

15. Robert works for a Congressional representative and suffers a disabling injury in an automobile accident. Robert cannot work more than three hours per day according to his doctor. Weeks later, when he returns to work, he asks for a job accommodation and is told that it can’t be done. When he presses the point, his supervisor says the reason is:

The request he has made would exempt him from several of his job’s key responsibilities.Because Congressional staff members have to meet the public every day, they can’t have people seeing disabled workers in the office. It doesn’t look good.The request he has made would set a precedent that other Representatives’ offices would have to follow.Congressional staff people aren’t covered by the ADA so they don’t have to even discuss his request.

16. John, a new employee has just arrived at the orientation program where everyone completes their payroll forms and signs up for healthcare benefits. He brings his W-4 form up to you and says he isn’t subject to payroll withholding because he pays his taxes directly each quarter. What is your response?

Unfortunately, all employees are subject to payroll tax withholding.If you can show me a W-10 form you have submitted to the IRS, we can block your paycheck withholding.That’s okay. We won’t process a W-4 form for you. We will give you a Form 1099.I’ll check with the accounting department to find out if you can do that.

17. The price of gold is climbing and folks at the Golden Nugget Mine are planning to reopen their operation. They know that safety is an important consideration. But what about federal regulations for gold mines? Are there such things?

MSHA rules apply to all mining operations in the United States. The Golden Nugget Mine will have to study those rules and get ready for inspections by the government.MSHA can tell the mine what to do, but it has no authority to conduct inspections because the Golden Nugget is not a coal mine.There are MSHA regulations to be considered, but because they are not in the coal mining business, the Golden Nugget Mine won’t have to worry about them.There are only OSHA regulations in general. All of those rules still apply.

18. Jerry just arrived at work and found a sinkhole in the parking lot. He is early enough that other people have not yet begun arriving for work. Because the hole is about 10 feet across at the moment, what should Jerry be doing about the problem?

If Jerry is a non-management employee he should give his boss a call and leave a voicemail message, if necessary, about the sinkhole.Jerry should first test the edges of the sinkhole to see if it could grow in size. Then he should barricade the perimeter so no one else will fall in.If Jerry is a management employee he should take charge of the situation and begin the process of alerting others to the danger posed by the sinkhole.If the sink hole poses an immediate danger of death or serious injury Jerry should call 911 and report it. He should barricade the perimeter of the sinkhole with tape or something else to prevent people from falling in.

19. The price of gold is climbing and folks at the Golden Nugget Mine are planning to reopen their operation. They know that safety is an important consideration. But what about federal regulations for gold mines? Are there such things?

There are only OSHA regulations in general. All of those rules still apply.MSHA can tell the mine what to do, but it has no authority to conduct inspections because the Golden Nugget is not a coal mine.MSHA rules apply to all mining operations in the United States. The Golden Nugget Mine will have to study those rules and get ready for inspections by the government.There are MSHA regulations to be considered, but because they are not in the coal mining business, the Golden Nugget Mine won’t have to worry about them.

20. Gary is a junior at Southpark High School. He is 17 years old. The school needs some help in its warehouse during the summer and Gary needs a job so he can save money for college. His boss is the Manager of Facilities. Gary is assigned to work 9 hours every day during the week because one of the other employees is on disability leave. And, because the other employee was the forklift driver, Gary has been given training in how to drive that equipment around the warehouse and loading dock. He likes that duty because he has been driving a car for only a few months. The forklift is cool. Is there any difficulty with the Facilities Manager’s requirements of Gary?

Even though Gary can work unlimited hours, he cannot be assigned to drive the forklift.Whatever the Facilities Manager wants Gary to do is okay because it’s only a summer job.Everything the Facilities Manager has required Gary to do is permissible under federal laws.Since there is no restriction to the number of hours Gary can work, everything should be okay.

21. Pete is very sensitive about security of his personal identity information since his credit card has been stolen twice in the past year. He is trying to clear up his credit rating because of the problems with the stolen cards. Now, he has approached the HR Manager at his organization and requested that his Social Security number be removed from all of the company records. He thinks that a mistake could cause him more grief if the Social Security number were to be obtained by thieves. As the HR Manager, what should you do?

The company can and should delete the Social Security number from its records to protect Pete.There is a need for the company to keep the Social Security number for tax reporting.There is a need for the company to keep the Social Security number for Census reporting.The company has no need for the Social Security number, but should keep it regardless.

22. Jimmy has heard that he will be getting healthcare coverage from his company because of the new Obamacare law. His company employs only 10 people, but Jimmy is excited that he will finally get some insurance. He hasn’t been feeling very good lately.

Jimmy might have to wait until he can arrange for insurance through one of the exchanges.Jimmy is out of luck. The new law only covers employers with 50 or more people and there is no way Jimmy will be getting health insurance under the new law.Jimmy’s boss just ran out of forms, but he will get some more from HR and then have Jimmy sign up for his coverage.Jimmy should get an enrollment form from his boss because all employees will be covered by the new requirements that employers must provide health insurance for workers.

23. Hank puts in the following hours at work: Sunday, 0; Monday, 8; Tuesday, 8; Wednesday, 9; Thursday, 8; Friday, 8; Saturday, 7. His boss says he will give Hank compensating time off for every hour of overtime Hank works. How many compensating hours off should Hank receive for this work time?

One day of compensating time off.Compensating time off is not permitted under the FLSA.1.5 days of compensating time off.7 hours of compensating time off.

24. Every year Donna has to attend training on the use of the company vehicles she drives. She thinks this is a silly waste of time. Donna knows how to drive and she knows the company vehicles. Why should she attend training every year?

OSHA only requires training be done once for vehicle operation.Safety programs must be developed that provide for refresher training on all equipment operating procedures.Only state safety provisions govern how frequently training must be done in Donna’s situation.There is no federal requirement for Donna to take yearly training.

25. Steve is the HR Director for a crane operations company. He just got a phone call from one of his field supervisors with tragic news. One of their units has collapsed and their operator is in the hospital with serious injuries. What should Steve do with that information?

He should notify the Occupational Safety and Health Administration about the accident and the injuries.Steve should call the crane operator’s spouse to let her know about the tragedy.He should notify the Crane Safety Institute of America to be sure they are able to add this accident to their database.Steve should immediately call the hospital to be sure all the insurance information is on file for their employee.

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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