aPHR cheat sheet

Turnover rate = (separations ÷ average headcount) × 100, where average headcount = (beginning + ending headcount) ÷ 2.

Absenteeism rate = (days absent ÷ total scheduled workdays) × 100.

Form I-9 retention rule: keep each completed I-9 for 3 years after the date of hire or 1 year after separation, whichever is later.

FLSA recordkeeping: payroll records (wages, hours, deductions) retained 3 years; time cards, work schedules, and wage computation records retained 2 years.

OSHA injury and illness records (Forms 300, 301, 300A) are retained 5 years; ERISA plan records are retained 6 years.

Title VII, ADA, and EPA personnel records: keep 1 year, or 2 years when a charge is filed; ADEA payroll records: 2 years, 3 years if willful.

Ulrich-style HR operating model splits work into shared services (transactional processing), centers of expertise (program design), and embedded HR business partners (strategic advice to managers).

Core HRIS modules: employee master data, payroll interface, time and attendance, benefits administration, and talent/performance management.

Selection rate = (applicants selected in a group ÷ applicants in that group) × 100; the group with the highest rate becomes the comparison base.

Four-fifths (80%) rule: a protected group's selection rate below 80% of the highest group's rate is treated as evidence of adverse impact.

Yield ratio = (candidates advancing to the next stage ÷ candidates entering the prior stage) × 100; used to compare source effectiveness.

Cost per hire = total recruiting costs (advertising, agency fees, referral bonuses, recruiter time, travel) ÷ number of hires in the period.

Time to fill = days from requisition approval to offer acceptance; time to start = days from requisition approval to the employee's first day worked.

Job analysis produces two documents: the job description (duties, tasks, reporting relationships) and the job specification (KSAOs, education, experience).

Validity types: criterion-related (test score predicts job performance), content (test samples job tasks), construct (test measures an underlying trait); reliability is consistency of scores over time.

Under the FCRA, background checks require written disclosure plus authorization, a pre-adverse-action notice with a copy of the report, and a post-adverse-action notice.

Structured interviews with job-related, scored questions have higher predictive validity than unstructured interviews; cognitive ability and work-sample tests rank among the most valid predictors.

FLSA exemption requires all three: salary basis (predetermined, fixed pay not reduced for quality or quantity), the DOL-set salary level, and a duties test (executive, administrative, professional, computer, outside sales).

Overtime = 1.5 × regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek; the regular rate includes base pay plus nondiscretionary bonuses, commissions, and shift differentials.

Compa-ratio = employee salary ÷ pay range midpoint × 100; a compa-ratio of 100 means pay at midpoint.

Range spread = (maximum − minimum) ÷ minimum × 100; midpoint = (maximum + minimum) ÷ 2.

FICA: Social Security 6.2% up to the annual wage base; Medicare 1.45% on all wages, plus 0.9% additional Medicare tax above the statutory thresholds.

FUTA: 6.0% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages, reduced to a net 0.6% by the maximum state credit; SUTA rates and wage bases are set by each state.

COBRA applies to group health plans of employers with 20 or more employees: 18 months of continuation for termination or reduced hours, 36 months for death, divorce, or Medicare eligibility, with a 60-day election window.

ERISA governs pension and welfare plans; in a defined contribution plan (401(k)) the employee bears investment risk, while in a defined benefit pension the employer bears the funding and investment risk.

ACA employer shared responsibility applies to employers with 50 or more full-time equivalents, who must offer minimum-value, affordable coverage or owe a penalty.

ADDIE model sequence: Analysis → Design → Development → Implementation → Evaluation.

Kirkpatrick evaluation levels: Level 1 reaction, Level 2 learning, Level 3 behavior, Level 4 results.

Needs assessment levels: organizational analysis (where training is needed), task analysis (what must be taught), person analysis (who needs training).

Training ROI = ((monetary benefits − program costs) ÷ program costs) × 100; net benefit = total benefits − total costs.

70-20-10 model: roughly 70% of development from on-the-job experience, 20% from coaching and relationships, 10% from formal courses.

Training transfer is strongest when training tasks closely match job tasks (identical elements), when learners practice, and when supervisors support application.

Performance management is continuous (goals, feedback, development); performance appraisal is the periodic rating event within it.

Succession planning builds a developing pipeline of candidates for key roles; replacement planning simply names stand-by backups for specific positions.

Progressive discipline sequence: verbal warning → written warning → suspension → termination, documented at each step; gross misconduct may justify skipping steps.

Hot stove rule: discipline should be prompt, preceded by warning, consistent across people, and focused on the act rather than the person.

Just cause tests: notice of rule, reasonable rule, investigation before discipline, fair investigation, proof of violation, consistent treatment, and penalty proportional to the offense.

Weingarten rights: a unionized employee may request union representation at an investigatory interview that the employee reasonably believes could lead to discipline.

NLRA Section 7 protects concerted activity for mutual aid or protection, including for employees who are not union members; Section 8(a)(1) bars retaliation against it.

Mandatory bargaining subjects are wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment; at impasse, parties may use mediation, fact-finding, then economic pressure such as a strike or lockout.

At-will employment exceptions: public policy violation, implied contract (handbook promises, oral assurances), and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

ADR options in ascending formality: open-door policy, peer review panel, mediation, then arbitration (binding or nonbinding).

Turnover formula = (separations ÷ average headcount) × 100; separating voluntary from involuntary and regrettable from non-regrettable drives retention strategy.

OSHA General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1): the employer must furnish a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

OSHA recordkeeping: covered employers with 10 or more employees keep the Form 300 log and 301 incident reports; the Form 300A summary is posted February 1 through April 30.

Reporting timelines: work-related fatality within 8 hours; in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours.

Incidence rate = (number of recordable cases × 200,000) ÷ total hours worked; the 200,000 constant represents 100 full-time workers at 40 hours for 50 weeks.

DART rate = ((days away from work + restricted duty or job transfer cases) × 200,000) ÷ total hours worked.

Hierarchy of controls, most to least effective: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative/work-practice controls, then personal protective equipment.

Workers' compensation is a no-fault statutory system with an exclusive remedy: medical care, temporary and permanent disability income, death benefits, and vocational rehabilitation in exchange for giving up negligence suits against the employer.

Hazard Communication Standard requires container labels, 16-section Safety Data Sheets, and employee training on hazardous chemicals.

ADA safety interface: reasonable accommodation is required unless it imposes undue hardship; a direct threat to the health or safety of self or others is a defense.