PHRca study plan
PHRca · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
California Employment Law and Compliance
Map California wage-and-hour rules - minimum wage, daily and weekly overtime, alternative workweek schedules, meal and rest period premiums - into a single reference sheet contrasted against FLSA
Compute gross pay, overtime, and premium pay for five hypothetical pay scenarios, including a 7th-consecutive-day and a missed-meal-period case
Apply the ABC test from AB 5 / Dynamex to three worker-classification fact patterns and defend each conclusion in writing
Assemble a compliant itemized wage statement checklist under Labor Code 226 covering all required data elements and lawful deductions
Your checkpoint
A 25-question self-authored wage-and-hour quiz answered with written rationales, scored at 80% or higher
California Employment Law and Compliance
Outline FEHA protected classes, covered-employer thresholds, CRD/DFEH complaint filing timelines, and available remedies in a comparison with Title VII
Differentiate harassment-prevention training duties under SB 1343 by audience, content, and renewal frequency, and identify who must be trained
Apply California retaliation and whistleblower protections (Labor Code 1102.5, FEHA retaliation) to three termination scenarios
Build a 12-month compliance calendar of California posting, notice, and record-retention deadlines
Your checkpoint
A one-page FEHA-vs-Title VII comparison table plus a 12-item California compliance calendar with statute citations
Leaves of Absence, Accommodation, and Risk Management
Compare FMLA/CFRA, Pregnancy Disability Leave, kin care, and California paid sick leave on eligibility, duration, notice, and benefit continuation
Sequence a week-by-week leave-interaction timeline for a pregnancy-disability-then-bonding scenario showing when each law attaches and overlaps
Apply the FEHA interactive process and reasonable-accommodation analysis to three accommodation requests, including undue-hardship reasoning
Distinguish workers' compensation, ADAAA, and FEHA obligations in a return-to-work and light-duty scenario
Your checkpoint
A leave-interaction flowchart covering PDL to CFRA to FMLA with eligibility gates, notice deadlines, and reinstatement rights
Leaves of Absence, Accommodation, and Risk Management & Compensation and Benefits
Design a reasonable-accommodation case file structure and an undue-hardship analysis template that could withstand a CRD inquiry
Explain California pay-transparency, pay-scale disclosure, and pay-data reporting duties (Labor Code 432.3, SB 1162) and apply them to three job postings
Compare California and federal benefits mandates - SDI, PFL, paid sick leave, Cal-COBRA vs. COBRA - on trigger, duration, and employer cost
Your checkpoint
A timed 40-question mixed quiz on Domains 1 and 2 with a written error log naming the statute or rule behind each missed item
Compensation and Benefits & Employee and Labor Relations
Calculate State Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave benefit amounts for three wage scenarios using current wage-replacement formulas
Verify retirement and health plan compliance touchpoints - CalSavers mandate, ERISA basics, ACA reporting thresholds - against a sample employer profile
Outline California documentation and discipline standards that support defensible employee-relations decisions
Draft a corrective-action memo that avoids prohibited references and preserves at-will and leave-law protections
Your checkpoint
A benefits compliance one-pager covering CalSavers, Cal-COBRA, SDI/PFL, and ACA reporting thresholds with action owners
Employee and Labor Relations & Recruitment, Selection, and Retention
Analyze California at-will employment limits and exceptions - implied contract, public policy, covenant of good faith - across three termination narratives
Write behavior-based interview questions that satisfy FEHA pre-employment inquiry restrictions and flag three unlawful question types
Evaluate background-check, credit-check, and ban-the-box restrictions (ICRAA, FCRA, California fair-chance rules) for a sample hiring workflow
Summarize labor-relations frameworks - NLRA versus California public-sector statutes - and identify which applies to a given employer
Your checkpoint
A mock workplace investigation packet containing an interview plan, documentation log, and findings memo for a harassment complaint
Recruitment, Selection, and Retention & Health, Safety, and Security
Assemble a California new-hire onboarding checklist covering Form I-9, DE 4, wage-theft notice, and arbitration-agreement considerations
Apply Cal/OSHA IIPP elements, injury and illness recordkeeping (300/300A), and reporting deadlines to a worksite scenario
Outline a workplace violence prevention plan per SB 553, including the violent-incident log and training cadence
Identify emergency-action, physical-security, and employee-data privacy obligations relevant to HR records
Your checkpoint
A Cal/OSHA compliance checklist pairing IIPP elements with Form 300 log timelines and an SB 553 plan outline
Human Resource Development and HR Administration & Health, Safety, and Security & California Employment Law and Compliance
Map California mandated training requirements - harassment prevention, violence prevention - into an annual delivery calendar with audience and hour requirements
Interpret core HR metrics and HRIS data-governance practices to answer applied scenario questions
Complete two full-length timed practice exams and rank every missed item by domain and topic
Condense high-frequency California statutes, deadlines, and thresholds into a single reference sheet for final review
Your checkpoint
A final timed 100-question practice exam scored at 80% or higher, accompanied by a ranked list of the ten weakest topics with a remediation action for each
Milestones
Week 2: Explain, without notes, the ABC test and three FEHA complaint-filing deadlines, and score at least 80% on the week 2 self-quiz
Week 4: Score 75% or higher on the timed 40-question mixed set covering Domains 1 and 2, with a written rationale for every miss
Week 6: Walk through the leave-interaction flowchart and the accommodation file from memory, and score 75% or higher on a 40-question set covering Domains 3 and 4
Week 8: Score 80% or higher on a full-length timed practice exam and produce a ranked top-ten remediation list with dated actions