Certified Public Labor Attorney Exam study plan

Outline the statutory skeleton of labor and employment law from memory: NLRA, FLSA, Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, OSHA, and workers' compensation, mapping each to its administering agency and remedial scheme.

Distinguish the NLRA Section 7 protected-concerted-activity standard from Section 8(a)(1)-(5) unfair labor practices and classify ten short fact patterns into the correct subsection.

Trace the representation-election timeline from petition through certification, including the showing-of-interest threshold, the 2014-era expedited election rules, and the block-and-bar doctrines.

Identify the five members' structure and jurisdiction of the NLRB and explain the difference between the General Counsel's prosecutorial role and the Board's adjudicative role.

Analyze duty-to-bargain cases under Section 8(a)(5) and 8(b)(3), separating mandatory, permissive, and illegal subjects of bargaining and applying the unilateral-change doctrine.

Evaluate the three categories of protected activity in Weingarten, concerted activity, and social-media conduct, and predict Board outcomes on eight hypothetical employer policies.

Differentiate lawful economic weapons: strikes, lockouts, replacements under Mackay Radio, secondary boycotts under Section 8(b)(4), and hot-cargo agreements under 8(e).

Explain preemption doctrine, including Garmon and Machinists, and identify when state law claims survive NLRA preemption.

Construct the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework and apply it to a disparate-treatment hypothetical, articulating each party's burden at every stage.

Contrast disparate impact analysis under Griggs and the 2009 codification in Section 703(k), including the business-necessity defense and the less-discriminatory-alternative rebuttal.

Distinguish harassment liability standards for supervisor versus coworker conduct under Faragher-Ellerth and Vance v. Ball State, and identify the tangible-employment-action trigger.

Map protected classes and remedies across Title VII, ADEA, ADA, and Section 1981, including caps under Section 1981a, front pay, and the after-acquired-evidence defense.

Explain the administrative exhaustion sequence: EEOC charge, 180/300-day filing window, right-to-sue letter, and the 90-day civil action deadline.

Classify workers as exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA salary-basis and duties tests, including the 2024 salary-threshold increases, and apply the primary-duty test to five job descriptions.

Calculate regular rate of pay including non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and commissions, then compute overtime for a fluctuating-workweek and a salaried-non-exempt employee.

Apply the FMLA eligibility, serious-health-condition, and 12-week entitlement rules, including intermittent leave, reinstatement rights, and the 50-employee/75-mile test.

Distinguish FMLA, ADA, and workers' compensation leave obligations and identify when they run concurrently.

Summarize ERISA fiduciary duties, vesting schedules, and the distinction between welfare and pension plans relevant to an employer's benefit obligations.

Explain the exclusive-remedy principle and its exceptions, including intentional torts, the substantial-certainty test, and third-party actions, and apply them to six injury scenarios.

Trace the workers' compensation claim process: notice, statute of limitations, compensability, disability categories, and the role of the administrative law judge and appeals board.

Distinguish exclusive remedy from OSHA liability and identify when an injury triggers both reporting obligations and a compensation claim.

Apply the General Duty Clause and the hierarchy of controls to a hypothetical worksite, and identify which standards require written programs versus training only.

Sequence OSHA inspection rights: warrant requirements, employee walkaround representation, and the six-month citation period with the 15-working-day contest deadline.

Classify OSHA violations by gravity and willfulness, and compute the penalty range for each category under current maximums, including the egregious and repeat multipliers.

Outline the Section 11(a) abatement process, the role of the OSHRC, and the employee's Section 11(c) anti-retaliation protections.

Draft an enforceable non-compete and non-solicit clause that satisfies a reasonableness test on duration, geography, and scope, and critique a clause that likely fails.

Analyze trade-secret protection under the Defend Trade Secrets Act and state UTSA, including the reasonable-secrecy requirement, the inevitable-disclosure doctrine, and the DTSA whistleblower immunity notice.

Identify the enforceability limits on employee-choice-of-law, arbitration, and class-action waivers after Epic Systems, and apply the 2023 Speak Out Act to nondisclosure clauses.

Apply the attorney-client privilege, work-product doctrine, and the ethical duty to report up the corporate ladder under Model Rule 1.13 to an internal investigation scenario.

Identify conflicts of interest in representing both a company and its employees, and explain the Rule 1.7 and 1.9 waiver requirements.

Trace the administrative adjudication sequence before the NLRB, EEOC, and OSHRC, distinguishing investigatory, prosecutorial, and adjudicative functions and the applicable standard of review on appeal.

Explain exhaustion, ripeness, and the final-order requirement for judicial review of agency action under the APA.

Apply the duty of competence to emerging technology and the confidentiality obligations of Rule 1.6 to electronic client data.

Complete two full-length timed practice exams under exam conditions and record per-domain accuracy.

Re-teach the three lowest-scoring domains using only your own outlines, without referring to source materials.

Build a one-page rapid-recall sheet of deadlines, thresholds, and penalty maximums for every domain.

Simulate the essay portion by writing two timed issue-spotting answers and grading them against a self-built rubric.