Pass the HRCI HRCI certification PHR Questions and answers with CertsForce

Legally, deductions like Social Security and court-ordered child support are permissible under wage and hour laws. Unauthorized deductions could risk jeopardizing the employee’s exempt status under FLSA.

Official Extract:

"Mandatory deductions such as taxes and court-ordered garnishments are lawful and do not affect an employee’s exempt status under the FLSA."

(Source: HRCI PHR Content Outline 2024–2025, Total Rewards Section, Payroll Compliance)

Lack of sustainability and scalability is often the biggest reason mentorship programs fail. Without clear processes for growth and long-term maintenance, even good programs lose momentum and impact.

Official Extract:

"Sustainability and scalability are key to long-term success of mentoring programs, ensuring they evolve with organizational needs and maintain effectiveness."

(Source: HRCI PHR Content Outline 2024–2025, Learning and Development Section, Mentorship Programs Best Practices)

In religious institutions like a Catholic university, requiring certain employees (especially faculty) to adhere to religious standards is generally permissible under the ministerial exception and Title VII protections for religious organizations.

Official Extract:

"Religious organizations are permitted to require employees who perform religious functions to conform to the institution’s religious beliefs and practices."

(Source: HRCI PHR Content Outline 2024–2025, Employee and Labor Relations Section, Employment Law Compliance – Religious Exceptions)

Central tendency error occurs when a manager rates most or all employees as "average" or "meets expectations" to avoid making extreme judgments. It distorts true performance appraisals and hinders meaningful feedback and talent development.

Official Extract:

"Central tendency is a common evaluation bias where supervisors rate all employees near the midpoint of the scale to avoid confrontation or favoritism."

(Source: HRCI PHR Content Outline 2024–2025, Learning and Development Section, Performance Appraisal Errors)

The first and most critical step in offboarding to protect data is to disable the departing employee's access to all systems immediately, ensuring they cannot access confidential information after separation.

Official Extract:

"Disabling system access immediately upon termination is a crucial data security measure to prevent unauthorized access to company information."

(Source: HRCI PHR Content Outline 2024–2025, Business Management Section, Offboarding and Data Security)

A laissez-faire leadership style is characterized by minimal intervention. Leaders allow employees to self-manage, including handling conflicts independently, which can lead to unresolved tensions if overused.

Official Extract:

"Laissez-faire leadership is defined by the leader’s hands-off approach, offering little guidance or support and often leading to poor team cohesion and unmanaged conflicts."

(Source: HRCI PHR Content Outline 2024–2025, Employee and Labor Relations Section, Leadership Styles and Impact)

Top management support is critical because leadership must champion DEI initiatives. Additionally, aligning DEI efforts with overall business objectives ensures sustainability and strategic relevance.

Official Extract:

"Successful DEI initiatives require visible leadership support and integration with organizational strategies and business objectives."

(Source: HRCI PHR Content Outline 2024–2025, Business Management Section, Diversity and Inclusion Strategies)

Effective workforce planning is a dynamic, ongoing process. Regular reviews allow organizations to adapt to changes in talent supply, business strategy, and external market conditions.

Official Extract:

"Workforce planning should be a continuous process aligned with organizational strategy to anticipate and respond to workforce needs proactively."

(Source: HRCI PHR Content Outline 2024–2025, Talent Planning and Acquisition Section, Workforce Planning Best Practices)

New employees' early exposure to and understanding of organizational culture — the values, norms, and working environment — has a strong influence on their decision to stay or leave.

Official Extract:

"Introducing employees to the organizational culture during onboarding enhances early engagement, promotes retention, and fosters a sense of belonging."

(Source: HRCI PHR Content Outline 2024–2025, Talent Planning and Acquisition Section, Onboarding Best Practices)

The ADA allows drug testing during the pre-employment process, as long as it is conducted consistently for all candidates. Testing for illegal drug use is not considered a medical examination under ADA.

Official Extract:

"Under the ADA, employers may conduct drug testing of applicants or employees, provided that tests are administered fairly and consistently and do not target individuals based on protected characteristics."

(Source: HRCI PHR Content Outline 2024–2025, Employee and Labor Relations Section, ADA Compliance and Drug Testing)